Blood and Bound
by Divineoverseer
Summary: The Mark twists and pulls at Dean to shed rivers of blood and Sam will not just stand by and watch. He'll do what it takes to save his family. Family also starts to rear its head towards Michael, Samael, Cain, Abel and even Crowley. And Daniel faces temptation in the form of his family's bloody past. Now's not just personal. It's Family Business. Part 2 of The End (Again)
1. Black

Chapter 1: Black

It was the dead of night when there was the sound of soft whimpering sounding off in the trees at an overpass. A demon was pound in special mystic handcuffs as she was lightly glaring at her captor.

"I heard the rumors. I said, No that can't be. A Winchester? One of _us_? But it's true, isn't it? Whatever soul you had. Whatever Boy Scout code you cuddled up to at night. It's all gone. Leaving what? Look at you," she spat at Sam.

He glared hard at the demon before he held up the knife he had used to cut into her before. "Where is Crowley?" he asked again.

"Eat me," the demon said.

Sam nodded before he went and jammed the knife in her torso, enough to hurt her but not kill her. Sam's arm may be in a sling but that wasn't deterring him in the slightest. "One more time, where is Crowley?" She refused to answer so he twisted it firmly. "Where's my brother?" he spat.

"I don't know," she cried out.

He then pulled the knife out. "Then you're going to call someone who does," he said as he went and cut across her neck. He then went for a container to gather some of the blood.

"No one knows," she tried to explain. "We won't answer."

"Make the call," Sam demanded.

"We're under orders," she cried.

"Make the call!" he repeated louder.

She shook her head and begged, "Please."

But Sam didn't care. He just grabbed at her jaw. "Where's my brother!"

* * *

 **Supernatural**

* * *

For weeks, Sam had been looking into any possible sign of demonic activity he could find. Every last aspect and detail about demons was being reviewed. He was calling in favors from anyone he could think of to help him find any clue that could lead him to his brother or to Crowley. But so far, nothing.

It had been quiet. Too quiet. He had learned there was heavy activity over near Lawrence, Kansas immediately after his brother disappeared and was shocked to see that the center of it was in Stull Cemetery. He went over to see it himself and saw that place where he had fallen into the Cage with Lucifer and Michael had recently been tampered with. He checked the cemetery's logs and saw that a private service had been scheduled the day of the Feast of Saint Michael and the whole cemetery had been locked down. Looking back, Sam couldn't believe that they couldn't see why it would be there. It seemed Daniel Leonard had succeeded and freed Michael.

He thought that might be a good reason why it was suddenly so hard to find Crowley and Dean right now. With the most powerful angel topside again they had most likely gone to ground to hide. All demons would be trying to lay low and stay out of sight now. This only frustrated Sam more. Day after day, he was flipping through book after book that the bunker had relating to demons as he listened to police scanners for anything. He kept finding nothing or things that were negligible at best. Every night before he went to sleep he took a trip to Dean's room and reread the letter left on the pillow. He didn't want to believe that it was really Dean who left it for him. It just couldn't really be his brother.

Sam was just going through some more news sites when an article of a murdered man came up. He stiffened as he read the article and then reached for his phone and dialed Castiel. Castiel was at that moment resting in some seedy motel room bed when his phone went off.

He picked it up and drearily asked, "Sam? Hello."

"I think I may have found something," Sam said instantly.

"Oh, oh good," Castiel said before he started to cough.

"Cas? You there?" Sam asked.

"It's okay. I'm okay. Go on," he said before letting out another cough.

"Well get this, a John Doe that was murdered in Wisconsin a week ago turns out to be this guy, Drew Neely, who went missing from some religious order in Ohio. Okay?"

"Yeah," Castiel said straightening himself but still lightly coughing.

"Alright, Drew Neely has been missing for three years. Killed his wife, his kids, and then just disappeared. I know he's dead but if this guy was possessed-"

Castiel followed. "Then that would make him the first-" But he couldn't finish. He started coughing again.

"The first lead," Sam continued for him. "The first anything that we've seen in-" Sam stopped as Castiel's coughing echoed off into his ear through the phone.

"Sorry," he apologized.

Castiel had not been doing so well these past few weeks. After the Pavilion he seemed to have gotten better by being on such holy grounds but the effect had worn off quickly and his strength was declining again. It was now worse than before to the point where he seemed to be constantly ill.

Sam couldn't bring him in on this. The angel had enough to deal with already. "Actually, you know what, now that I'm looking at this more I think I jumped the gun here buddy."

"No," Castiel interjected. "Sam, you said it was something."

"Yeah, it's…it's not. I was wrong. Sorry."

"I can help," argued Castiel.

"Cas," Sam cut in. "We tried that."

"Sam, you can not blame what that demon did to your shoulder on me. I'm not-"

"I know. I'm not blaming anything on you," he tried to say. "It just happened. And…you have to be worrying about yourself. I really shouldn't have bothered you."

Castiel just stared off blankly, not really looking at anything. Then he asked, "How are you Sam?"

"I'm good," he answered. "I'm alright. I'm just, tired, you know. I'll be better when we get him back. After I kick his butt," he added.

Castiel let a smile loose from that one. But it quickly faded. "I miss him."

"Yeah." Sam did too, a lot.

"Why would he just disappear?" Castiel just had to ask out loud.

"Says he had no choice."

"Then who wrote the note," Castiel pointed out. "Do you think there is any chance that Dean's still-?"

"Still even remotely Dean?" Sam asked back. Part of him wanted to find out while the other didn't. Because if his brother wasn't his brother anymore, he…he didn't want to think about what that could mean.

He then hung up the phone.

* * *

Over at some bar, Dean was up on the stage, singing some karaoke. Badly. The patrons kept shouting and complaining for him to shut up and get off the stage. Dean just ignored them and kept on singing like he was the only one in the room. Crowley was off side, drinking and talking with some of the patrons, as he pointed off at him. He seemed to be enjoying the show.

To the side was Zepar, looking from the badly singing ex-human and the King of Hell. His eyes were narrowed in a scolding glare. He then turned around and soon enough was gone with a soft flapping of wings.

* * *

Samael was in a cozy lounge in a large luxury cabin, the massive fireplace to the side was blazing. Behind him were great big windows but the dark, night sky had no light coming in making the room glow ominously from the fire's light. Samael was surrounded by nearly a dozen angels including Barbatos and Marilyn as they sat in chairs and couches surrounding a rather large table in the center. One of them handed Samael a paper and he looked it over.

"Is this accurate?" he asked.

"I believe it is sir," the angel nodded.

Samael let an audible huff out as he shook his head. "You got to hand it to my big bro. Takes a leave of absence but as soon as he gets back on the horse he makes some serious trails."

"Will we have to step in?" Barbatos asked.

Samael smiled at him slightly. "Don't worry Barb. Michael may be back in the saddle but his lines are spreading kind of thin. There's still too much at the moment for him to do to start to move in on us. Besides, I already have things ready to 'step in' first before us."

"Mind telling us what that is?" he asked.

"Yes, actually I do. Don't want to spoil the surprise," Samael said before reaching out for his glass of bourbon.

"There's something else," said Tyrus. "We think we may have finally tracked him down."

Samael straightened his back up. "You have? Good."

"Want us to take him out," Tyrus offered.

"No," Samael said narrowing his eyes. "He could still prove useful."

"But he won't agree to work with us. Especially you," another of the angels said.

"Not in the past. But, circumstances change. He is running out of time and places to turn. He can't go home. Michael would instantly burn him to a cinder, if he's feeling generous. With everything going on, he might sing a different tune." Samael then looked over on ahead. "Anita?"

"Yes sir," the angel asked as she straightened up.

"I'd like you to go and pay him a little…visit. Make him a proposal. I'm sure he'll say yes eventually."

"And if he just keeps saying no?"

"You're a smart one. I'm sure you can think of something," he added flirting. There was then a knock on the door. "Come in."

The door opened and every turned to see it was Zepar. "Sir," he said coming in and shutting the door behind him.

"Ah, Zepar. So, how goes my little side project?"

"About that," Zepar said with a hard look on his face. "I think there might be a…situation."

Samael actually lost his laid back posture as his own face hardened.

* * *

Dean had managed to score a night with the beautiful blonde bartender after his 'performance' last night. Dean slammed down onto his back after their latest round under the sheets.

"Okay, wow," she breathed. "Wait, what time is it? Darrell is going to kill me if I'm late from my break again."

Dean checked the time in the clock at the bedside table. "Oops," he slurred out.

"Damn," the girl said as she started to get out of bed. "I told you to hurry it up and then you had to go and do that _thing_ with the thing," she teased.

"Wait," he said. "You mean that thing that _you_ were begging me for?"

"Begging for you to hurry it up maybe," she said back with a smile.

Dean shrugged. "Well, let's not argue about good sex."

"It was good wasn't it?"

Dean mumbled his agreement. "Just, uh, don't get too excited ya know. Or too attached. Cause I'm just rolling through."

The girl just looked at him stiffly for a bit before moving to fix her hair. "You know, there's about a million other ways you could've said that."

Dean just shrugged. But then the door opened and Dean held his hand out. "Okay, whoa," he spat out.

Crowley just kept walking in. "Woah? What's going on here?"

"What's it look like?" Dean asked smugly.

"In my bed?" Crowley said pointing it out clearly annoyed.

"What?" Dean said before taking a look around. "Oh, yeah," he said smiling. The girl was amused too.

"Jerk," Crowley muttered out.

"Bitch," Dean said.

"Get a room you two," the girl jested.

"Had a room, before you two soiled it."

"Love you Crowley," she said.

"Love you too…sweetheart," he said unable to recall her name.

"Ann Marie, jack ass." Then she left.

Dean was amused as he had gotten dressed. Or at least the top half of him.

"Pants," Crowley pointed out.

Dean and Crowley were then staring down two men.

"Best 2 out of 3. Losers buy the beer," he said before they all looked down and began their game of pair foosball.

"Lots of beer," Dean added.

The two began to talk as they played.

"The girl seemed nice. Slightly damaged," Crowley put in. "Don't see the old you falling for that."

"Yeah well, not to worry. She means nothing," Dean said not skipping a beat.

"Good, good," Crowley said as he pushed on his bar. "Because you and I, we're Rolling Stones. No distractions." The ball was heading for their goal. "Down. Bring it down!"

"Stop talking!" Dean said trying to intercept it. But then it went in costing them the point. "Would you shut up?" Dean said to him. "If you keep talking then I can't play the game."

But then they looked off and Dean spotted Ann Marie getting into a tense spat across the bar. The guy then grabbed her and started to take her outside.

"Hang on," Dean said moving for them.

Crowley stood there as he saw Dean follow out after them. Dean went out of the bar to see them both off at the side. They were still arguing and he still had her in his grip.

"Get off of me," she demanded.

But he still had his hold on her. "Why are you doing this?"

"Calm down," she asked.

"Where were you?" he asked back at her.

Dean then started for them. "Hey, is this him?"

"You have a problem?" he asked Dean finally letting her go.

"Yeah, you Matt?" he asked before he went and punched him across the face.

"Dean," she said in surprise.

Dean just took him and slammed him to the car and kept punching his face. He just landed one blow after another. Crowley stepped outside and calmly watched the display. Finally Dean stopped.

"You need to get away from here," he said as he grabbed him by the jaw. "Don't try and contact her. In fact, don't even think about her. You understand me?!"

The guy nodded through his bloodied nose and face and then Dean threw him back. He looked back at Ann Marie to see that she was looking at him not in the least bit grateful. Crowley cleared his throat at him. Dean just went off back into the bar, as a dark clothed figured watched him.

* * *

There was an old jawbone, one caked with blood as it was pulled out of a man. Dean Winchester stared back at the fresh corpse with his eyes a dark and deep black. Then there was Sam Winchester, tied in a chair, being beaten by a man. After that was then a young boy covered in blood walking down the side of a road. Samael sitting down, laughing in pleasure. The sign of the Mark of Cain then burning bright red.

Daniel gasped as he lifted his head off the pillow it was lying as he tried to settle his heart down. His breathing was quick but he immediately got it to settle as he let his eyes glimpse his surroundings. He was back in his room. There was a bit of light from the window shining into the room showing that it was still light out.

"What?" he said lightly as he slowly brought himself to sit up in the bed.

His last memory was of him completing the ritual and looking at Michael as he emerged free from the Cage. Then he remembered everything fading out around him. Was he dead? Was he in his personal heaven?

"Hello!" he called out. "Is anyone there?"

The door quickly opened a moment later and in walked Gadreel. "You're awake," he said with a calming smile.

"Gadreel. Wait, is that really you or are you my memory of you?"

Gadreel let a chuckle loose. "It's okay Daniel. You aren't dead."

"I'm not?" Daniel paused for a moment before he went and took his fist and slammed it into his torso. "Ow, yep, I'm not dead."

Gadreel narrowed his eyes in wonder. "Why do you humans always seem to account pain with life all the time?"

"Sorry but I just want to be sure. I'm really not dead then?"

"No. You've just been out for a while."

Daniel moved so that he was sitting up in his bed. "What? How long a while exactly because I'm having a Ripley moment here."

Gadreel squinted his eyes as he shook away his loss of the reference. "You've been out for three weeks."

"Three weeks?"

"It seems the ritual took quite a toll on you. Everyone thought you were dead at first until we found you still had a pulse. Michael immediately brought us back to the Manor from the cemetery and we placed you in your room."

"Michael? Wait, where is he? And Joseph? What's been going on?"

Daniel started to begin to try and get out of bed but Gadreel came over and made him settle back in.

"I'm sorry Daniel but you're still weak." He kept his hand down on him firmly until Daniel was flat against the bed again. "You should focus your energy on getting better."

Daniel nodded his head as he started to truly take in the fact that he wasn't dead like he thought he would be. His eyes went to a new table set up by his bed where there were an assortment of things laid out there. "What's all that?"

"Tokens from your friends and admirers," he said moving over to them. "You had a lot of people worried about you. Kevin especially didn't want to leave until you woke up but we convinced him that you wouldn't want him to be deterred on his account."

"What? What happened to him?"

"Well, shortly after Michael was freed and he brought us back here he wasted no time getting to work. He went to Heaven and undid Metatron's spell and reopened its gates to angels and the reapers again. Souls are being ferried back with fierce precision."

"Oh, that's good to hear," he gasped out.

"Then, when that was done. Michael immediately set about to begin undoing the spell's effect on us."

Daniel's eyes lit up. "That's great," he said before his eyes narrowed. "But, I don't see your wings."

"Not all of us," Gadreel explained. "He started with the Powers first and returned their wings to them. As for everyone else, it will be a gradual process. As powerful as Michael is, he still feeling weak from his long banishment to the Cage."

"Oh, I see." Daniel guessed it all made sense. If he had been trapped for years in a fiery box in the deepest part of Hell, he wouldn't be 100% either.

"Well, when Camael had her wings restored she was ready to take Kevin and the Angel Tablet with her to Rome as agreed. Kevin was hoping that he would have the chance to say goodbye but it wasn't to be. But," he said reaching for an item on the table. "He did have this made for you."

Daniel saw that it was a well varnished picture frame that had the photo that Kevin had taken of him and Joseph before they had left for Kansas. He let a laugh loose when he saw that Kevin had gone and photo shopped a golden halo above Joseph's head. He then found his eyes starting to droop.

"Just let em…know…that I'm," Daniel slurred out before he let himself succumb to his need to get more sleep. But, unlike the last three weeks, he slept with a smile on his face.

Gadreel nodded. "Of course," he said letting a small smile loose.

* * *

Castiel was yacking in the bathroom sink as he tried to clean himself off. He couldn't just lay there and have himself just waste away to nothing. He knew that Sam would follow up on his lead and if it did happen to lead to Dean then Sam would need help. Dean wasn't Dean anymore. He knew it. He could feel it. But he knew that Sam was putting his efforts not to and that could only bring trouble.

As Castiel put his shirt on there was a knock on the door. He opened it a bit to see a woman standing at the other end. Not just a woman though, Castiel could see that she was an angel. "Yes, who are you?"

"Castiel? I'm Hannah."

"Hannah? Why are you here? What do you want with me?"

"Well, I was hoping we could talk. Heaven needs you. We need you."

Castiel just deflated at that.

* * *

Sam made it to Wisconsin and went into the precinct. The sheriff took him into his office.

"You came investigating Drew Neely's murder, right?"

"Right," Sam said.

"Problem is we're not certain it was a murder at all." He then sat down at his desk and brought up the feed from the convenient store the night Neely was killed.

"Okay," Sam said as he stood next to him. "What are we dealing with here? Suicide."

"Self-defense, more likely," the sheriff said as the footage began to roll. "The footage was corrupted by our techies managed to clean it up."

As it rolled Sam looked to see that, standing there with a magazine, was Dean. He looked fine. "Son of a bitch," he muttered.

"Watch," the sheriff said as Neely came into view. "This guy's there, minding his own business. And then there's Neely. See the knife?" he asked as Neely pulled an angel blade as soon as he looked at Dean.

"Yeah."

"That's intent right there. Now watch this."

Neely then ran to stab at Dean but he held him off and then started to beat at Neely. He threw him down and Dean then pulled out something from his back and started to jam it into Neely multiple times.

"Looks like a cutless, or something," the sheriff said as it played. "I don't know what the hell this is."

But Sam knew what it was. The First Blade.

The sheriff continued. "Problem is we don't know if this guy is a hero or a…psychopath." They watch as Dean just goes and takes the magazine that he dropped and started to walk out like nothing happened. He then walks up and looks at the camera, face in full view. The sheriff freezes the video there. "That's the image that's getting uploaded to the wires."

"Do you mind if I take a look at this?" he asked the sheriff.

"Knock yourself out. I'll be back in a bit," he said taking off.

Sam then went and rewound the footage. When Dean's face came into view after attacking Neely, he then played the video frame by frame. He then stopped it when Dean's eyes went demonic black. Sam gasped in shock.

As Sam was left to do all that as the sheriff went off to a quiet corner and pulled out his cell. He scrolled down his list of contacts and then called the one named Morales with a cross next to his name.

"Agent Morales speaking," said the man on the other line.

"Yes, this is Sheriff Douglas Trent from Michigan. I need to make a report." He then rolled his right shirt sleeve to rub at the leather cuff hidden underneath.

* * *

Dean was walking off from the bar that night, down an alley when he just suddenly stopped in his tracks.

"We could do this however you want. Don't pretend that I didn't see you this afternoon. Checking out my moves. You get a good look?" he asked in amusement. "I hope so because I could sure use some competition right now."

"Oh, I'll be more than competition," the demon said as he pulled out an angel blade.

Dean just smirked at him, not afraid at all. "You Abaddon groupies are all the same, you know that? You, the douche who jumped at the gas station. You just can't accept that the Queen is dead." He then reached behind him and pulled out the First Blade.

The demon reacted by pulling out his black eyes before moving in for the attack. Dean quickly disarmed him and then stuck the First Blade right into him.

* * *

Over in a suburban home, a man named Cole Trenton was doing an intense morning workout as his wife and son were in the kitchen preparing breakfast. As his son was digging into his cereal, he heard a beep and saw a paper coming in from the fax. He then took it and went to bring it to his dad who was lifting weights.

"Fax dad."

Cole put them on the rest before he went for it. "Who's it from buddy?"

"Doesn't say. There's a picture," he pointed out.

Cole looked at it for a moment before he smiled. "Thanks a lot bud," he said ruffling his son's hair a bit.

Their son went back to the kitchen but his wife stayed and had a grim look on her face. "Is it him?" she asked.

He didn't answer. He didn't need to. She just left the room, with a slightly horrified look on her face. Cole just glared at the picture in front of him. He then went off to gather his weapons. He put all the guns he thought he would need before he looked back at the picture. A surveillance still of Dean Winchester at the convenience store on police file.

* * *

 **End of Chapter 1**

A/N: I'm hope I'm off to a good start. I had a good holiday and I hope that all of you did too. My pages on the Supernatural Fanon had been updated to include some new characters that will premiere in future chapters.


	2. Black part 2

Chapter 2: Black part 2

Hannah took Castiel off a secluded place down the road from the motel.

"Alright Hannah, what did you want to see me about?" he asked her when they both got out of the car and saw that they seemed to be completely alone.

"Castiel, surely you've sensed what has happened? He's back."

Castiel nodded. "Michael."

"He means to reassume his rule of Heaven. To take us back to how we were. After everything that has happened and all we've gone through we can't have let that be for nothing. We have to do something. We need you to lead us again…just like you did against Raphael."

Castiel just looked down at his feet. "I'm sorry Hannah but I can't."

"Castiel," she said cutting him off. "You don't seem to understand. Michael is laying down the law harder than he ever did. He has decreed that anyone that is not showing absolute loyalty to him and his position is to be eliminated immediately. He says that there is no more room for disloyalty. He's had the Powers wipe out a small faction of angels because of mild suspicion that they once conspired with demons."

Castiel rolled his eyes. "I see nothing wrong with that," he muttered out.

Hannah just stared empathically back at him. "I know that you've haven't been feel well Castiel."

"No…I…feel like a million dollars," he tried to explain away.

But Hannah shook her head. "That's not true. What Metatron did to you is taking its toll even more, isn't it? I can see it. I can feel it. Those of us that I've gathered together want to help you. We can help you and then you can help us."

"Help me? How?" he asked. "Do you plan to capture some other angel and cut out their grace so that I could be saved?" he said a bit angrily.

"We need you," she said in response.

"To do what Hannah?"

Hannah seemed taken aback. She thought it was obvious. "To keep us free. To not throw away all we done. Make everything we've fought for not be for nothing."

Castiel then turned around and let his forehead rest down on the hood of the car. "Maybe we should."

"You don't mean that," she said quickly.

"No," Castiel said as he nodded and then pushed himself away from the car to look back at Hannah. "I do. What has happened since the Apocalypse was averted. What has happened to Heaven and all the angels with his absence…it perhaps was for nothing." Castiel sighed. "Maybe it's for the best that Michael is back to take back control."

Hannah's mouth was open slightly. "You are just delirious," she tried to explain. "You don't know what you're really saying."

"No," he bit out. "I do. Everything I've done…all that's happened. The war, the slaughter, the fall…I've only made things worse. Even when I did rule Heaven I didn't make anything better for anyone. I only brought more pain and suffering." Castiel thought back to his conversation with Joseph a few months ago. "I couldn't even keep control for more than a few weeks. I…don't know what you think I can do. I can't help you Hannah. I can't help anyone."

There was more to that statement then simply his brothers and sisters in Heaven. It also referred to what had happened to Dean. How he just was able to stand there and watch as Metatron killed him. Castiel, well or ill, he was unable to help anyone with anything.

Hannah looked like she was trying not to look upset or hurt by what Castiel was saying to her. She was just calmly staring back at him. "So…you're just going to let Michael and the Powers do whatever they want?"

"At this point…it may be for the best. You and your fellow faction members should just go and pledge your support to Michael. Take care of yourselves and don't worry about me."

You don't understand Castiel. It's well known that we have strongly supported you in the past. Michael is leaving no room for insubordination this time. He feels that the risk is too high for rebellion to spark again that he is striking at wherever he feels it may exist. If I or the others go to him he will have us executed."

"That's if you're lucky."

Castiel and Hannah turned to the direction that the voice came from to see a young brown haired woman stepping out for the brush and walking calmly towards them. Except she wasn't a woman. Both of them could see that she was an angel, an angel with restored wings.

Hannah brought out her blade. "Stay back," she said holding it out at her.

The new angel just held her hands up as she kept walking forward to them. "Relax there Hannah. I'm not here to fight. I come in peace."

"Who are you?" Castiel asked her.

"You two don't recognize me? I'm almost hurt," she said playfully. "Castiel, Hannah, it's me. Anita."

"Anita?" Castiel muttered out. She was one of the renegades that was freed from Heaven's Prison.

Hannah immediately tensed. "What do you want here?"

Anita held her hand up. "Relax there Hannah. I merely wished to talk to Castiel. You can join us if you like."

"Talk?" Castiel asked stiffly as he narrowed his eyes suspiciously at her. "About what?"

"The future," she said simply. "All of our futures."

* * *

Sam visited the fill-up store where the attack had happened. Turned out there was a witness to the whole thing, the clerk.

"Oh yeah," he said when Sam asked him about Dean. "The porn guy was at him. Broke at him like, what!" he said throwing a fist. "And the other guys was like, what?" he said stepping back and making some downward jabbing movements like he had a knife. "Say my name. Say my name," he said with every stab movement. Sam wasn't amused. "Oh, and there was a lot…of blood." The guy seemed to sober up when the talk of blood came in.

"Right," Sam said before clearing his throat. "When…porn guy came in, did he say anything?"

"Uh…where's the porn?" the clerk said uncomfortably.

"That's all he said?" Sam asked and the clerk just nodded. "Did he buy anything? Use a credit card?" The clerk just stared back at him before shaking his head finally. Sam was now irritated. "Nothing? So, some guy comes in, kills another guy. In your store, on your watch and you, you just keep on…keeping on?" he scolded.

"You mean when porn guy was stabbing some other guy dead, ten feet in front of me and I was having a total code brown moment in my favorite freaking pair of pants because I thought I was next, did I conduct a field interview?" the clerk said scolding Sam now. "No." That got Sam to settle down and get off his case. "Hey, can you do me a solid?" The guy then pulled out a cellphone. "Found this wedged under the TV. I think it might be the dead guy's phone so if you're heading back to the station…"

Sam took the phone and opened it to see a photo of the possessed man on a bike on the screen. He saw that the last message he received was coordinates to this Gas N' Sip and a message that read: Long Live Abaddon. So that meant that someone had sent this guy to try and assassinate Dean. He went and called the number.

The one who picked up was Crowley. " _You're dead_ ," his voice said.

"No," Sam said back. "Just using a dead man's phone."

" _Moose_ ," he breathed out. " _Took you long enough. Your brother and I were beginning to wonder if you had hit another dog_."

Sam bit back the rush of anger he felt when Crowley talked about Dean like he was still out and about. "My brother…is dead Crowley. Okay, and I know that you have some freaking demon parading around in his meat suit and believe me, you are going to pay for that."

" _Oh Moose…Moose, I'm afraid you haven't allowed yourself to dream quite big enough yet. Your brother is very much alive, courtesy of the Mark. The only demon inside of him is his own. Leaving him more twisted and wrangled than you could possibly imagine but I assure you, it's all his. Now, all better_?"

Sam didn't lose a beat. "And the Abaddon supporters that you've been sending to kill my brother? How does Dean feel about that little double-cross?"

"If that's what you think is happening then you are more out of depth than I thought."

"I don't know how you did this. What kind of…black magic stunt you pulled but you hear me, I will save my brother. Or die trying!"

" _You know what tickles me about all this_?" Crowley asked mockingly. " _What's really eating you up. You don't care that he's a demon. Heck, you've been a demon. We've all been demons. No, what's bothering you is that he's with_ _ **me**_ _, and he's having the time of his life. You can't stand the thought, that he's mine_."

"He's not your pet," Sam bit out.

" _My pet? He's my best friend. My partner in crime. They'll write songs about us. Graphic Novels titled_ **The Misadventures of Crowley and Squirrel**." Sam's grip on the phone tightened and his eyes shut in anger. " _Dean Winchester completes me and that is what makes you lose your chickens_."

Sam resolved tightened like his grip on the phone. "I'm going to find you. I am going to save my brother. And I'm going to kill you dead."

" _Wow_ ," Crowley slurred. " _That's the operative phrase isn't it? Find you. Good luck with that_." He then hung up.

What Crowley didn't seem to get was that while he seemed to think that Sam was spinning his wheels he had been playing possum. His other phone had been tracking his location and now he had it. A bar over in North Dakota.

* * *

Crowley chuckled as he hung up the phone and looked to the bartender. "Another shot please."

"And one for me too."

Crowley flinched as the spot next to him was now occupied by Samael.

"Samael…you're an unexpected treat."

Samael rolled his eyes. "Spare me your cheap flattery Crowley."

"Oh, so straight to business then? I must say that with your renowned reputation of charm and seduction you sure know how to make the King of Hell feel cheap."

"When they're appealing," Samael said as he accepted the glass from the bartender. "But yes, we should get straight to business on your lack of it lately."

"What are you talking about?"

Samael gave him a look before his eyes went over to Dean who was starting a game of pool against some guys on the other side of the bar.

"I see you've been enjoying our latest investment."

"Oh, is that a crime now?" Crowley was seething. What right did Samael of all people have with lecturing him about enjoying investments?

Samael snorted. "Of course not. You know that I always see to breaking new toys in but even I have a quota for professionalism. I have no problem if it was a week, two is understandable, three…now that is seriously pushing it. You were on my case for honoring our little arrangement Crowley and its you that's being the stiff."

"Relax," Crowley said giving him a bit of a stink eye. "I have it under control."

"Really?" Samael said before taking a sip of his scotch. "Because it seems to me that he is the one that has control over you Crowley."

"He doesn't," Crowley argued.

"Oh? Is that why you've been lagging behind in these backwater night bars and sitting back while Hell's new superstar prances about making a jackass of himself? Have you forgotten just what he is containing?"

"Of course I haven't forgotten," the demon bit out. "His case is unusual in case you'd forgotten that. Normal transition methods don't really apply. I've been handling it."

"Well, you better get a much better handle on it because it doesn't look like you've made any progress from where I'm sitting. Remember, we had a deal. I held up my end to the letter. But it seems the King of Hell isn't able to hold up his. How's that going to be for your image to the rest of demonkind? The King of the Demons who can't handle a baby demon," he said mockingly. "Especially since if you can't handle him like agreed…you know what my compensation is."

Crowley's jaw tightened. "It won't have to come to that."

"For your sake, it better not. After all…it's not going to be my ass on the line if it does. Especially for what you know is coming," Samael then finished emptying his glass. "Collections due soon. The Devil isn't the only one who always comes back to collect."

Samael then vanished in a faint flap of wings leaving Crowley there to glare at the now vacant spot before he went and drunk the last of his cup empty.

"Dean," he said waddling over to the pool table where Dean was aiming his cue.

"I'm busy here," he said before shooting the ball and landing one of the balls into a pocket.

"I can see that, but there is some urgent business we have to discuss."

Dean stared at him with a raised eyebrow but Crowley kept his stern gaze on him. They stared each other down for a moment before Dean finally rolled his eyes.

"Alright," he huffed. "Give me a minute."

"Of course," Crowley said moving back for the bar.

A few minutes later Dean came over and sat next to him and Crowley began to explain some things to him.

"You sent those demons?" Dean said when Crowley was finished. "To kill me?"

"To keep you sharp," he corrected.

Dean snorted. "Really?"

"If it wasn't for me throwing those demons your way what do you think would happen? The Mark needs to be sated, otherwise-"

"Otherwise I turn into a demon. Yeah, thanks. I sorta got that a few weeks ago," Dean slurred out before he took a sip from his beer bottle.

"Just trying to help."

"You lied," Dean pointed out.

Crowley scrunched up his face. "Who do you think you're talking to here? Does the Tin Man have a sheet metal willy? Of course I lied."

"Okay," Dean groaned before he got up to head back to the billiard section to resume his fun.

"Sit down," Crowley said causing Dean to look back at him. "Sit." Dean just looked back at him blankly, not moving a muscle. Crowley just let an aggravated breath loose from his nose. "I needed to keep you sharp, for our future. About which we really need to talk."

"Our future?" Dean asked jokingly.

"Professional future. How to put this…if I have to spend one more night in this feated petri dish of broken dreams and B.O, I will cut off my own face."

Dean shrugged. "I don't know what you're talking about. I'm good. Hell, I'm great."

"Really? How many suicide wings can you eat? How many one hit wonders can you karaoke to death?" he said scoldingly.

"Okay," Dean said taking his seat back. "The deal was: We howl at the moon. No time stamp. No expiration date."

Crowley bit back his growing aggravation. There was indeed an expiration date and it was practically around the corner. "We've howled. We've bayed. We done extraordinary things to triplets, all of which have been massively entertaining. I will treasure our Flickr albums forever. But now, it's time we accept what we are and go back to work."

"Pass," Dean said before going for his beer.

Crowley wasn't going to give in, not now. "Think of it. The King of Hell and Dean Winchester by his side, together. We rule together. We create the perfect Hell. And all of this that's…bloomed between us, it never ends. We're not ending the party, we're moving the party. So as not to have the recently liberated holy bighead Michael and his Power Rangers come around and kill the fun when their Command Center is up and running again. Think on that," he said moving off but then he stopped in his tracks. "Oh, almost forgot. I spoke to Moose earlier."

"What?" he said turning around.

"Yes, apparently he's been tracking us for some time now. He got my text from the celibate demon that you stabbed, blah blah blah. It was…words were spoken. Emotions. In retrospect maybe too many words and too many emotions."

Dean tilted his head. "He traced the call."

"My bad," Crowley shrugged. "I guess he'll be here by morning, at the latest."

"You sold me out? Well…that's just lovely," he muttered unamused.

Crowley gave Dean a hard look. "I don't know what's going on with you. Really, I don't but I'm just about sick of it. Sold you out? Try, Did you a favor. Everything I've done for you the past six months: The Mark. The First Blade. Mid-Wifing you back to life. Offering you a seat by my side, has been a favor. A Gift whether you see it or don't," he finished sternly. It was time for him to lay down the law. He's had enough of both Dean and Samael thinking him a weak fool He was the bloody King of Hell! It was time for them to remember that. Nevertheless, he still needed Dean at his side so he settled a bit. "You know what, take the night. Decide. You know where to find me."

He then left with Dean staring off blankly.

* * *

Daniel was standing off in some far corner as his head was bowed down and tears steadily fell. He had regained his strength earlier that day and had set out to fully catch up on everything that was going on now. He was shocked to learn that the Winchesters not only found but actually had attacked the Paradise Pavilion while he and the others were away. He was even more shocked, not to mention devastated, to hear that Dean had killed some angels and Battalion members. Among the dead were Nathaniel and Tessa. But there was one death that really struck him in the heart.

Logan.

It broke Daniel's heart to hear that Logan had been killed. Stabbed by Dean Winchester with an ancient weapon of evil, The First Blade. That was not the way for his friend to go. Logan wasn't just his friend, he was what he had once dreamed to be. When Daniel was still in school, before he even learned of any of this, he was seriously considering a career in the FBI. He planned to follow in the family tradition of law enforcement and his father and brother felt he would go farther than any member of their family had gone before and go national with the bureau. It may have been a lifetime ago but the awe still hit Daniel.

He could still remember when he and Logan first met. Daniel had stumbled upon demonic signs close to where he was. With his gifts he stumbled onto a demon that just so happened to be in a man that Logan was tracking. He had thought him to be a serial killer and when Logan tried to confront him, was almost killed when he couldn't bring him down with bullets. Luckily, Logan was there to exorcise it and save Logan. After a time, Logan said that he owed him his life and wanted to repay him by helping him with his mission of rebuilding the Battalion and reached out to his list of lawful contacts and connections. It was thanks to their partnership that Michael's Battalion was the full scale operation and force it was today. Looking back, maybe it was destiny. While destiny could be cruel, it could also be wonderful. While some, a pair that shall remain nameless, kicked destiny to the curb when it snubbed them Daniel was ready to take it no matter what it gave or took from him. Like he once said, you can't pick and choose. You have to take the good along with the bad.

Gadreel cleared his throat to get his attention. "He's ready to see you now."

"Okay, I'm coming," Daniel nodded before wiped the traces of tears from his eyes and followed off after him.

He went through the Manor to the door leading to the study. There were two angels on either side of the doorway standing guard. When Gadreel stepped in front of them he gestured his hand over to Daniel. "He's expecting him."

"Just him renegade," one of them said to him.

"Hey," Daniel said softly to him. "Gadreel's been pardoned. He's one of you now so maybe you should start treating him as such."

The angel stared back with hard look from him to Gadreel before he went and opened the door. Daniel then walked in and the angels closed the door behind him. Daniel stiffened as his eyes met with the being sitting in an armchair staring back at him. Michael, the first angel in creation, was sitting in wait for him. Daniel took note of how much cleaner he looked than he was when he had emerged from the cage. He had a fresh pair of normal well fitted clothes, his face and hair was neatly groomed and was free of the grime and ash that seemed to stick to him from the Cage. To anyone else, it would look like a typical and average young man was sitting there. However, Daniel wasn't just anyone as his eyes could make out the glow of grace surrounding him and the sight of the golden wings closed behind his back.

"Daniel Leonard," he said as he stepped closer. "We finally meet."

"Yeah, I mean, yes," Daniel stuttered out. "We do…your holiness."

But Michael held out his hand. "No need for formalities. If anything that should be on myself and not just for your efforts in freeing me from the Cage but in your bid to restore the balance of the Natural Order. Joseph and the rest of the Powers have told me commendable things about you and for them to give praises to anyone, especially to a human, that is no small feat."

"Uh…thank you."

"Sit," he said pointing out the chair across from him. "I believe that you and I have much to discuss."

Daniel couldn't help the reflex of swallowing nervously.

* * *

Sam was driving as fast as he could to get to where Crowley's signal came from. At least he was before his car decided to break down. Of all the times and places for it to do that. In the middle of the night, in the middle of a deserted off road. Sam got out to try to see what the problem was when a car started to pull up. It stopped behind his car and the driver stepped out. Sam tensed but saw that he seemed normal looking.

"Need some help?" he asked politely as he had his hands in his pockets.

"Uh, yeah. It just died on me," he said circling the hood.

"Out here?" the guy said giving it a once over.

"Yeah."

"Your ride really has it out for you, huh?" the guy joked.

Sam smirked. "Guess so," he said before going for the hood.

"Give you a hand with that?" he asked when he saw Sam have trouble because of his broken arm. Sam nodded his appreciation. "Computerized cars these days, if one 0 goes then the whole thing breaks apart." He lifted it and pointed. "Look, that right there is the problem."

Sam looked to see some kind of electric box hooked up to his engine. "What the hell is that?"

"That's a killswitch. And here," he then held up a device in his hand. "this is the remote."

Sam immediately tensed and reached for his gun to pull on the guy who jacked his car but wasn't fast enough before he was punched and knocked on his back side. When he was knocked out, the mystery guy tied him up.

* * *

Anita led both Castiel and Hannah to the wilderness where they were sitting quite contently in front of a fire. The night sky was clear and completely open to them.

"Now," Anita said settling herself back a bit. "Let's talk."

"On what Anita?" asked Castiel. "Why are you here? What could you possibly want with me?"

"Well, it's not me that wants anything Castiel. It's who asked me to come. He would've come himself but he has his hands tied with other pressing business."

"Who?" he asked though he knew the answer already.

"Samael."

Castiel stood up in protest. "No. I won't listen to anything he or you have to say on his behalf."

"Let's not be too hasty there Castiel. He may have gotten off to a rocky start with you but he has some sympathy for what is ailing you."

"Sympathy, really? Samael has no sympathies. He doesn't even know the meaning of the word."

"That's just harsh, don't you think?" Anita said with a smirk spreading on her. "The least you could do is hear what he sent me to say before you begin to judge."

"We have nothing to talk with the likes of you about," said Hannah.

"Oh? I'm curious Hannah. What is the likes of me?"

"You're an abomination. A monster who betrayed Heaven."

"Betrayed Heaven? Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't that what Castiel has been accused of doing? More than once? And you seem to be eager to speak with him. You, who if I'm not mistaken, are conspiring to betray Heaven as well."

"We're trying to save Heaven," she protested. "Unlike you who went and whispered things into human ears, ridiculous and despicable things and claimed that they were the will of our Father."

Anita chuckled silently to herself. Yes, she remembered that. How she convinced one person that he had to set fire to a strip club because God deemed it rightly so. And another time when she told a boy to climb a fence into a bear cage because God had ordered him to as a test of his faith. Or another time when she told a woman to push a man in a subway into the tracks because if not he would commit a vile deed that same day and she had been chosen to stop it.

"I just gave them a message. The ones who received them had the choice to listen or ignore it."

Castiel glared at her. "The people you chose to give those 'messages' were lonely and downtrodden people and highly susceptible to your manipulations. They hardly had the choice to ignore it."

Anita just smiled at him. "That's just it, isn't it Castiel? Humans are always willing to do what you want when you tell them what they want to hear. But when they hear you speak against their desires, that's when they resist. I just wanted to give them what they wanted to hear for once."

"You didn't want to help them," Hannah scolded. "You wanted chaos."

"Ah, but its in chaos that such good things happen, don't they Castiel? You've been around humans for so long. Heck, you actually were one. You should know what wonderful things can be bred in chaos."

Castiel nodded. "Art, hope, love, dreams. But those are for the humans to discover on their own. Not for you to intentionally spark for your own amusement."

"Oh please, like you never wanted to spark such things with the chaos that you caused. The hope and dreams of freedom that came from your rebellion and uprising especially within your two favorites. Your precious Winchesters? Their strength to resist, when its in their best interest to of course. Well, Winchester if we're being more accurate now."

Castiel made to attack her but Hannah stood and held him back. "No Castiel. You're too weak. You won't stand a chance against her."

"Yes," she said. "Listen to the voice of reason Castiel. You're at the end of your rope. You know it. Hannah knows it. I know it. But more importantly, Samael knows it. And he wants to help you."

"Help me? Samael? And why would he want to do that?"

"Because…he likes you Castiel. I mean, what self-respecting angel doesn't? He wants to help you and he can. He can fully restore your grace, even give you back your full wings and power."

"And what would Samael want in exchange for his generous donation?" he asked sarcastically.

"Just one simple thing. Your help…in his fight against Michael. After all, isn't that what you want as well?"

Castiel and Hannah stilled as they stared back at her, the flickering light of the fire lighting the unease and hesitation on their faces.

* * *

Dean tried to go back to his routine but everything seemed to have changed. His flirtation with Ann Marie was now being rejected. She was freaked by him now. His pool games weren't fun anymore and his karaoke singing was rejected and the owner tried to deny him before he could finish, to which he punched the guy's lights out. He went to bed completely unsated.

* * *

"Let's go," the guy said as he pulled Sam down into an old mill with his hands tied and a bag over his head.

Sam soon found himself thrown into a chair and had his feet bound. The bag was then ripped off of him giving him a clear look at his capture. He seemed to be a tough and strong looking guy. He had this look on his face like he'd been in his fair share of fights and that being brutal wasn't anything new to him.

"Hey partner," he said when Sam stared at him. "You okay? How's that chicken wing?"

Sam lightly held onto his broken arm. He didn't bind his hands. The guy who had him didn't seem to be a demon, angel or some kind of shifter. He seemed genuinely human. "Who are you?"

The guy didn't react to the question as he went to set Sam's bag on a nearby table. "You know, the first time I broke my arm my older brother Davy had me riding on the handles of his three speed. Decided to pop us a wheelie," he said as he looked through the contents of his bag. To see the different set of weapons and flasks of holy water he had. "Doing good for a little bit and then whoop," he snapped his fingers for effect. "It hurt like a son of a bitch." He then threw the bag away and approached him. "You're Sam Winchester. Your older brother Dean…he and I go waaay back."

Sam narrowed his eyes. "Really…so I take it you're not with the Battalion then. You don't seem the type. So what…are you a hunter?"

The guy paced and then nodded. "Yeah. I guess you could call it that. Hunting your brother counts, right?"

"I wouldn't do that," he tried to warn but the guy just laughed. "Trust me. Look buddy, I don't know who you are, alright. I don't know what you want or what my brother did but if you've got any sense then I say you turn tail and run back to that army recruiting ad that spit you out in the first place. He's a monster."

"Oh he was," he nodded. "Yes…he was. Many, many moons ago. Now, he's prey." He then leaned in. "And I'm a monster now."

He then took out Sam's phone from his pocket and then scrolled down the contacts until he found Dean's name and called it. It wasn't long before he picked up.

" _Left you an open tab at the bar. Knock yourself out_."

"Well," he said smiling at the sound of Dean's voice. "I just might take you up on that."

" _Who is this_?"

"Me? Well, I'm karma brother."

" _On my brother's phone_?"

"On your brother's phone."

" _Is he dead_?"

"No, not yet. As long as you show up where I tell you to show up, your brother will be just fine."

" _How do I know he's still alive_?"

He then turned to Sam and held the phone out to him. "Speak," he told Sam. Sam didn't say anything and just stared after him so he went and punched him. "Proof of life," he said in response to Sam's pained yell.

Sam reeled from the punch but still managed a loud enough "Dean," to be heard from the phone.

"Got a pen?" he asked Dean.

" _No, you listen to me. There's no trade. There's no meet up. No nothing. Except the 100% guarantee that somewhere down the road I will find you. And I will kill you_."

He smirked. "That'll be a cold comfort to your dead brother."

" _Hey, I told him to let me go. He didn't listen so whatever jam he's in now, that is his problem_."

"Well…I'll be sure to pass that onto him when I'm slitting his throat."

" _Yeah, you do that. Because he knows me and he knows that if I'm one thing, I'm a man of my word_." Dean then hung up.

Sam watched as he looked back at him before he started to pace a bit.

Well…this wasn't exactly going according to his plan.

* * *

 **End of Chapter 2**

A/N: Well, that's the first full episode. I hope that you have been left with a good craving to see what is next to come in this season. Oh, there is going to be a lot to come. There are certain storylines that I won't be using like Claire Novak's story as I wasn't too crazy for it. But others like Rowena and the Stynes will be coming to play. And check out my new updates and pages on the supernaturalfanon but beware of some spoilers.

The next episode will start with Cole explaining himself to Sam and why he is hunting for his brother. Castiel rejects Anita but it isn't taken well. Michael and Daniel also share on what is to come for them all.


	3. Reichenbach

Chapter 3 Reichenbach

Sam was tied in that chair as he listened to his captor, now identified as Cole Turner, tell him how he knew Dean. He began to tell him of a story that happened roughly eleven years ago, when he was a young teen. Cole had heard a noise in his home and had gone down to find his father's body bleeding on the floor. He ran to him and had looked up to see Dean with a bloodied knife looking down at him.

"That was the night that Dean Winchester murdered my father," the man said flatly. "And that's…that's why he's going to die."

Sam swallowed a bit. He knows how something like that must have seemed to this guy when he was so young. Dean had been off the rails a few times but there had always been a reason behind it, most recent times...somewhat included. But back then, there had to be a good reason. No doubt this guy's father was something that Dean had been hunting.

"I'm sorry," he said to him.

Cole just turned to look at him and then stepped over to him. "I'm not looking for your sympathy Sammy. I'm looking for your brother. So, why don't you tell me where Dean-o is and," he then tapped his shoulder. "I'll let you go."

Sam just let out a sigh. "That's not going to happen."

"Really? You do know that your brother gave me the green light to put a bullet between your eyes right?"

But Sam shook his head. "Look Dean…Dean isn't Dean right now, alright? Look, I'm sure that you think you know what you're doing-"

"I know exactly what I'm doing." Cole then crutched down closer to him. "Listen Sam, ever since I was 13 year old, every night when I close my eyes…all I ever see is your brother. And all that blood…and my daddy." Sam just gave him a solemn look but Cole wasn't scoring for sympathy. He wanted information. He went and got up. "Now, I know that Dean's family and all, but he gave you up. And you have no reason to protect him. None. So…help me, please." Cole gave Sam a hard look, silently threatening and pleading for Sam to give him what he wanted.

Sam just gave him a look and then shook his head. "Look, I'm sorry about your dad. Whatever happened…Dean had a reason. I…don't know how to tell you this but…there are monsters out there."

That just made Cole suck his teeth and pace off. "You don't think I know that?! I did two tours in Iraq. Special Ops, Darfur. The Congo. I've seen suicide bombers and child soldiers so hopped up on Speed they could barely talk but they sure as hell can shoot an AK."

Sam nodded but still had his eyes narrowed. "Not that kind of monster."

"Don't tell me about monsters!" Cole roared at him. "Because I've met my share!"

"I mean Vampires. Werewolves. Monster Monsters!" Sam then gestured over for his bag of weapons. "Look in the bag. Go ahead, take a look. It's all right there."

Cole gave him a look before he went over and headed for Sam's bag. He then pulled out Sam's flask. "Wow. I guess even psychos need to hydrate," he said sarcastically.

"It's holy water," Sam explained.

"Holy cow," Cole said mockingly.

"Look, I'm not a psycho. And I'm not lying."

"Now you see, that's exactly what a psycho liar would say so…see my dilemma?" Cole then went for his bag and brought out his gloves. "I guess then we'll just have to do this the _other_ way." He put on his gloves and then pulled out a hammer.

* * *

 **Supernatural**

* * *

Castiel looked over at Anita's awaiting face. She wanted his answer. Would he join up with Samael against Michael? Anita could see why Samael would want Castiel. With the connections that Castiel had access to, as well as the trust of the Winchesters, he would prove to be a useful asset in the coming war against the now freed Ruler of Heaven. Anita wondered what he was waiting for. He was sure that he would say yes as this was his best chance to get the help he needed before he and his grace burned out.

Castiel let out a soft puff from his nose. "No."

"What?" Anita said. She wondered if she heard wrong.

Castiel's eyes fell into a glare. "I said…No." He then stood up from where he was sitting to look down on Anita. "I'm not joining Samael. I'm not going to him for help. And I most certainly not going to even consider or accept anything you have left to say on the matter."

Anita then stood up. "Really? Are you sure Castiel? Because it doesn't seem like you have any other options, well, unless you think that the Winchesters will be able to help you." She then let a laugh loose. "In fact, one of them is half the man he used to be and the other is…dead to his old life."

That only made Castiel try and take a swing at Anita who went and grabbed his hand and clobbered him at his stomach. The blow was so hard on him in his weakened state that he quickly dropped to the ground.

"No," Hannah cried out as she went and brandished her blade to attack the renegade.

Anita brought out her own blade to intercept the strike. "Really? You're willing to compromise everything for…that," she said giving the moaning Castiel a slight look. She then backed up and sent a kick to Hannah. "You really think that husk will save you?" She then went and punched Hannah and sent her to the ground. Castiel then went and grabbed her by the leg but Anita just sent a kick right to the side of her head. "It's a real shame Castiel. If you had let us help you then you would've been strong enough to help your precious Winchesters."

"What do you mean?"

"Wouldn't you like to know," she sneered at him. "And now, you never will. See…Samael did want you to join our team but he did say that if you said no, then I was ordered to just end you right here and now." She grabbed at his throat and ran her blade over the side of his cheek as he looked up at her. "Consider it a mercy. You're finally being put out of your misery."

But then a blade went and stuck right at the side of her right leg. Hannah had dived and driven her blade there and Anita cried out in pain as some light from her grace leaked out from her wound. Castiel then quickly grabbed for Anita's hand holding her blade and drove it down into her other leg. Anita screamed as she collapsed to the ground.

Castiel got to his feet as he coughed and rubbed at his throat. "Hannah," he breathed out. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine Castiel," she said softly as she went and got to her feet herself. Hannah then went to Anita and pulled her blade free from the renegade's leg.

Anita gave a shout as she grasped her leg while Hannah turned her blade on her. Anita just glared at her. "You're a fool Hannah."

"It doesn't seem like that from here."

"You know what they say, appearances can be deceiving. Tell me, what exactly did you achieve? You just took down the only one who could've brought you and your faction the help you needed."

"I and my faction would never work with a monster like Samael," growled Hannah.

"But you would work with a washed up husk like Castiel. Look at him Hannah." Hannah spared Castiel a look. He was panting a little heavily and crutched a bit like his legs were moments from giving out. "Do you really think _that_ will help you stand up to Michael and the Powers? You all plan to resist Michael's return but you won't use what you must to prevail. You are both outnumbered and outclassed. You and your faction are dead already."

Castiel closed his eyes for a moment as he took in Anita's words. "Hannah." Castiel moved over and Hannah moved out of the way. He just stared down at Anita with narrowed eyes.

Anita gave Castiel a breathless laugh. "You look at me with that face Castiel when the truth is that you are just like me. You are a renegade, just like us. Though you are the least of us now. Killing me has brought you nothing."

Castiel closed his eyes as he took a deep breath before opening them back on Anita. "Actually, you're wrong on that count."

Castiel then took the blade in his hand and made a small cut at Anita's neck. The light of her grace poured out and Castiel drew it up into his mouth as he absorbed it. When the light faded, all of Castiel's injuries seemed to vanish. His coloring was healthy again and he seemed to be able stand upright again. He then brought his hand to the top of Anita's head and smote her from the inside out with his newly charged power.

* * *

Cole kept punching and clobbering away at Sam's face, arms and even went as far as gave him a solid kick at his right knee. Sam just took the punishment that Cole dished out for him and kept refusing to say anything about how to find Dean. It wasn't for Dean's protection, it was for Cole's. Sam knew that if Cole did find his brother then Dean would most likely kill him.

Cole however wasn't appreciating Sam's resolve. He then went and grabbed onto Sam's broken arm and started to put pressure on it. Sam cried out but kept silent.

"Where?" Cole roared at him. "Where is he?"

"Shove it up your ass," Sam spat at him.

Cole glared at him and then let him go. "Okay. Okay, guess it's time to crank up the volume." He then went over for the hammer and then angled it right for Sam's left kneecap. "Right there?" Cole went to raise it but then his phone rang. He reached for it and saw that it was his wife. "Ain't you lucky?" Cole then moved off and answered it. "Hey darling. No…I'm good."

Cole then went off to take his call in private leaving Sam there to catch his breath. Sam then noticed his keys on the ground close by. Keys that were attached to a switchblade. Cole went out as his son was then put on the phone. He was happy to hear from him but he told him that he had to go as he was busy. He said goodbye and then hung up. Cole headed back inside the empty barn but noticed that Sam's chair was empty. Not exactly what he was hoping for but he would take it.

* * *

Dean was over at a strip club watching as a stripper swung herself around a pole right in front of him. She bent down over him and Dean went over to try and fondle her as she lowered herself but she pushed his hand off.

"Ahh, no touching," she warned him as she stood back up.

Dean just went for his wallet. "You sure about that?" He then reached over and slammed down a twenty in front of her. "Go ahead. Pick it up," he teased.

The stripper just rolled her eyes. "And we're done."

She made to leave but he went and grabbed for her. "Hey, hey, song's not over sweetheart."

But Dean's hand was grabbed by the club's bouncer. "Time to go jerkwad," he growled at him.

Dean just went and slammed his head right into the guy's face before he went and started to pound on the guy. He left the guy knocked out as everyone in the club was giving him a stare. Dean just rolled his eyes and reached for his jacket and bolted from the club, through with being there now. As he exited he was run into by a teenager.

"Move grandpa," he scowled at him to Dean's surprise.

The teen then laughed with his friends laughing after him. Dean watched them go with a glare, half considering to beat all three of them down right then and there.

"Ahh kids." Dean turned to see that Crowley was behind him. "My day, we respected our elders. Course, back then, everyone over 30 was ancient. Now, 40 year olds are still living with mommy on Okay Cubic and taking pictures of their-

"What do you want Crowley?" Dean cut in.

"A chat," he said dropping the pleasantries. "We need to talk about your…anger management issues."

The two of them hopped on into the Impala where Dean took them to the nearest good looking bar he could set his sights on. They immediately went on in and headed for seats at the bar.

"Two shots here," he said pointing to himself. "He have something fancy for him with your tiniest umbrella," Dean smiled at the guy.

Crowley gave Dean a look. "So…how have you been feeling?" He then leaned in. "On edge? Pent up? Unfulfilled?"

Dean smirked at him. "You sound like a Viagra commercial, you know that right?"

But the King of Hell didn't even crack a grin. "This isn't…little Dean. It's about the Mark. It changed you."

"I noticed," Dean smiled at him and flashed his new black eyes.

Crowley continued. "And I know that you want to keep the party started. You want to have fun, fun, fun til Daddy takes the black eyes away…but the fact is, you need to kill now. Not want to. Not choose to. Need to." The bartender then came along and dropped two shots at Dean and gave Crowley a Coconut scented Viagra with an umbrella. "Dunker," he said not appreciating what Dean ordered for him. "Face it darling," he said looking back at him. "You're an addict. Death is your drug and you're going to spend the rest of your life chasing that dragon."

"So?" Dean shrugged.

"So, I'm here to…facilitate."

Dean widened his eyes. "You want me to kill for you?"

"No, I want you to kill for others. Look…you're going to snap eventually. The anger. The bloodlust. It's going to build up in you until you can't take it anymore and then…" Crowley shrugged his shoulders. "So, the question is: Do you want to spike a civilian or someone who has it coming?"

Dean felt a smirk creep on him. "Like who?"

"Like," Crowley then took his phone and showed Dean a picture of a blonde woman. "Mindy Morris. Caring Mother. Loving Wife. Cheating Troughlip. After her husband Lester discovered Mindy's Liason M.O. he did worse to her in exchange. In the end, Mindy wanted a divorce and fifty percent…of everything. But Lester-"

"Lester would rather give up his soul than half his junk," Dean finished for him.

"We live in a very materialistic world. Look, Mindy is going to die, one way or the other. Why not take the job? Feed the beast."

Dean shrugged. "Fine," he grunted before finishing his shot.

* * *

Castiel and Hannah got back to their car with Anita's body in tow.

"How are you feeling Castiel?" Hannah asked.

"Better," he grunted.

"For the moment at least, correct?" she asked.

Castiel just looked down for a moment before he looked back to her. "I'm sorry that I couldn't be what you were hoping for Hannah. But, you have to think about yourself and the rest of your faction. Don't oppose Michael. It will get you nowhere except to your destruction."

"And you think that this will work?" she said gesturing to Anita's body.

"Present the body of a renegade and supporter of Samael as a testament to your loyalty and it's sure to have Michael and The Powers allow you in. Right now, that might be for the best. Though we may not quite agree with him, he might be what we need at the moment. Samael is a powerful and vicious threat and unfortunately Michael is the only one with the power to stop him and he must be stopped."

Hannah nodded. "Perhaps you're right. If you wish…I could keep you informed. Make sure that you are not in his or the Powers' line of fire."

"Don't take any unnecessary risks," he insisted. "I wouldn't want you to wind up like Fredo Corleone." Hannah gave him an inquisitive look. "Never mind," he said quickly shaking off a bit of the pop culture overdose he still had due to Metatron. But then his phone started ringing. He looked at the name on the screen and saw that it was Sam who was calling. "Sam?"

" _You need to get to Bueller, North Dakota. Now_."

"I do?"

" _Yes. Crowley and Dean were there and we need to pick up their trail_."

"Oh, good. Great.

" _Yeah, not so much. Cas…Dean's a demon_."

Castiel eyes sharpened. He hoped that the device he was holding made him hear that wrong. "Dean's…a demon?" He took the silence as a yes. "How?"

" _The Mark…I guess. It messed him up, maybe, I don't know_."

Castiel rubbed at his eyes. "That is a vast understatement."

" _Right…Cas, I know that you're not doing so hot but this is kind of an all hands on deck situation_."

"You don't have to worry about that. I'm doing a lot better now."

" _You are? How?_ "

"That's not important now. Right now, you just need to know that I'll meet you there."

" _Okay, yeah_."

Castiel then hung up and looked back to Hannah.

"I guess this is goodbye then," she said not really asking a question.

He nodded. "Goodbye Hannah. And be safe."

"You too Castiel."

* * *

Michael and Daniel Leonard had stayed in the study and had talked for hours. Daniel couldn't remember the last time that he had so much to say as well as so much to ask. Granted, quite a few questions Michael had dodged or refused to answer any of but still. Most of their bigger subjects were updates on what had happened during Michael's absence as well as Daniel's time out of commission.

"Am I okay?" Daniel asked after he told him about what happened when he plunged the key into the ground to free him. "What happened to me?"

Michael straightened himself. "I can't really say as I'm not 100 percent sure. Tapping into cosmic forces like that is quite unpredictable. My father kept those rituals locked away in the tablets for reasons that he didn't fully share, even with me."

Daniel shook his head at the fact that not even Michael knew what had happened. "I was sure that I was going to die. I mean, the trials to close the Gates of Hell called for their participant to end their life."

"Because it called for someone willing to make the ultimate sacrifice to seal those gates forever. The key word is Forever." Michael then tightened his jaw. "Tell me Daniel, you know of the Deluge, correct?"

"Huh? Oh, you mean the Flood? Yes, who doesn't know that?"

"You humans know it but it seems that you don't really remember it. I will never forget it," he said turning a bit somber. Daniel could swear that he looked sad and hurt for a moment before he stared blankly back at him. "The last great wrath of God. The event and its costs were supposed to be in the memories of mankind forever." Then his face hardened. "Forever doesn't seem to last as long as it used to."

"Maybe it was too painful and we just tried our best to move on as best we could."

"But that had consequences, didn't it? It seems to have dulled the importance of what was to be taken from it. That's what the Hell trials were supposed to emulate. How final forever is supposed to be."

"Which Sam Winchester didn't do," he said.

Michael narrowed his eyes. "Yes, because of his brother Dean. Such a lack of humility and respect for the stability and order of this world. It's thanks to their disrespect and arrogance that I have the present array of problems and adversities to deal with."

"About that, if you're going to be here for a while to see to them then who's going to oversee things in Heaven returning to normal?" Daniel asked him.

That seemed to settle the archangel a bit. "I've decided to leave Raguel to handle the affairs in Heaven in my absence. He was very capable in heading the Powers' activities in Jerusalem after the Fall. I'm sure he'll do fine."

"Oh, that's good." Then Daniel's face softened a bit. "And...you're sure that Logan and the others who were killed here that day are up there?"

Michael nodded. "They are, rest assured, your friends found their way there immediately. They deserved no less."

He let out a relieved sigh. "That's good to know. What about Metatron? Gadreel told me that Camael managed to capture him."

"She did but it seems that Metatron had managed to send off the Demon Tablet while he was here though he was truly after this one." Michael then went and pulled out the Angel Tablet for Daniel to see.

Daniel was taken aback. "I don't understand. I thought that Metatron already knew what was on the tablets since he wrote them."

Michael nodded. "Yes, but these instruments have divine power by themselves. You should know that better than anyone. After all, you were called for when this was unsealed." He then put the tablet back away. "I've been using it to help in restoring my full strength. As for what Metatron wanted it for...he has refused to talk so I had him placed up in the finest cell of Heaven's Prison to see if that will help convince him to be more _cooperative_ ," Michael said with some semblance of a smirk finding its way on him. "Speaking of Gadreel, Joseph informs me that you are the one who first vouched for him to be given a second chance. May I ask why you did that for him? You are aware of what he had caused?"

Daniel nodded. "I am. But Gadreel was more of a victim of your two brothers more than anything else. He was punished enough for that. Besides, Gadreel could've abused his new freedom and taken it out on the world but instead he chose to try and make up for his mistake unlike the other renegades. He was even ready to bear the consequences when Abel found him. No one forced him or even threatened or blackmailed him to do any of it. That shows that he earned a second chance more than anything."

"That's quite a wise and honorable assessment," the archangel said raising his eyebrows at him. "You're a fine human being Daniel Leonard."

But Daniel shrugged. "It's no less than my father taught me to be."

Michael then gave Daniel a small smile. "I can see that you hold what he taught you in high regard. I could understand that perfectly."

Suddenly they heard wings and the both of them looked over to see Joseph standing there. "Sir, I have something to tell you." Joseph said to Michael before sending a nod Daniel's way.

Daniel got up. "Hey Joseph." As much as he wanted to catch up with his friend, it was clear that there was work to be done if Joseph himself came in. He then looked back over at Michael. "Well, I'm sure that I've taken up enough of your time Michael. It looks like your duty is calling so I better go and let you answer it. I'm sure there are plenty of other things for me to catch up and do now that I'm up and about again."

Michael nodded. Daniel spared Joseph another look before he went and headed out the doors and left the study.

"Quite a character, isn't he?" Michael said to his subordinate but kept his gaze at the door Daniel exited from.

"Yes, he is," Joseph muttered looking to the door as well.

"I can understand how you and the rest of the Powers have come to hold him in high regard. I'll admit, with how humans could get, there are times when I come to question my father's high regard of humanity. But speaking with him, and hearing his conviction, I can start to remember why I was the first to bow to them."

That made Joseph give a small smile. "I know sir."

"But, I'm starting to lose myself in nostalgia. You came here to tell me something, correct?"

"Oh, yes. A man in the Battalion sent me a prayer about Dean Winchester being sighted and tailed by his brother. Abel went to where the older Winchester was sighted and he felt traces of demon energy. Energy that was remarkably similar to Cain's."

"But not exactly," Michael finished. Joseph nodded. "So, it seems as if it is happening all over again. Just like back then." He then glared off at the floor. "I knew that Dean Winchester was a fool but he's taken idiocy to a whole new level. Choosing to take on the Mark. He has allowed himself to be branded with pure evil. All to destroy one demon and try to destroy an archangel, both of whom he had a hand in unleashing to the world in the first place."

"It seems as if Dean Winchester felt that his normal cache of guns wouldn't bring down this hunting game so he decided to trade in for a cache of nuclear missiles."

"Well he needs to be stopped and thrown into a bunker somewhere before he has a meltdown. Him and Cain. The last thing we need is for two demonic carriers of the Mark to be out there running amok."

"Abel is on the trail now as we speak."

"Good."

Joseph then took a look at the seat that Daniel had been sitting at a few moments ago. He seemed to be struggling with something as he looked from Michael to the chair and back. After a moment, he just dove right into it. "Sir…I noticed that you never did answer Daniel's question. About what happened to him after he freed you."

Michael gave him a side glance. "You were listening in?"

Joseph bowed his head. "Forgive me sir."

"Quite alright," he shrugged. "I can guess that you are looking after the Saint seeing as how you've personally grown somewhat attached to him. I can understand that. Just don't make a habit of it."

"Of course."

"And…yes, you're right. I didn't answer Daniel, because I'm not fully sure though I do have my hunches. To seal the Gates of Hell forever would call for the ultimate sacrifice. But to open a path to see to someone like me to be free…it would call for another sort of consequence. Of sacrifice."

Joseph narrowed his eyes. "May I ask what?"

"If my hunch is right…better for you not to know and fall into temptation."

Joseph sighed but he nodded his consent nonetheless. If Michael said that it was better for him not to know, then he would trust his judgment.

The silence between them wasn't long as there was the sound of wings before Ezekiel appeared before them. "Sirs," he said bowing his head slightly.

"What is it Ezekiel?" asked Michael calmly.

"I was contacted by a new faction that wishes to rejoin the Host under your leadership."

"Under whom?" Michael asked as he went to pace off in thought.

"Hannah."

"Hannah?" Joseph spat. He knew the name. "She is a known stout follower of Castiel's. Does she really believe that we will accept that she is loyal? Does she take Michael and we for fools? Execute her and her fellow heretics."

Ezekiel nodded. "Yes, I had half a mind to do just that but she brought in something as a testament to her sincerity?"

"What?!" spat Joseph.

"She slew one of the renegades."

That made Joseph settle a bit. "Which one?" he glared off.

"Anita. She claimed that she spotted her and struck her down to prove that she is ready to be loyal to the true Host again."

"Anita? A noble attempt…but not enough to erase her past serving that destructive pretender."

"Let her in," Michael said.

"Sir?" both Joseph and Ezekiel said together.

"Let her in," he repeated. "Allow her and the rest of her faction entry back into the Host."

"Right away sir," Ezekiel said before disappearing with the sound of flapping wings.

Joseph went to look as Michael was looking out a window into the scenery of the Pavilion's grounds. "Sir, is that wise? To welcome back a known traitor."

"Of course not, but we've been forced to make many exceptions as of late. Chief among them, Gadreel. If Hannah is indeed sincere then we'll gain more needed angels back into the fold. At least she hasn't stooped to working with demons like some other angels have chosen to disgrace themselves to do. But have her watched. If she resorts to treachery then I'll have her smoten without delay," he finished with a low and firm tone to his voice that made Joseph's hair stand on end.

"Yes sir."

* * *

Dean got to the address of the woman he was set to kill. He got to the door but then froze. He sensed something, or rather heard something. It seemed like a running engine. It was faint but he could tell it was close. He went over to the source to find that it was a running car and a guy was sitting in it, watching the house. Something told Dean that this was Lester, the guy who sold his soul to have his wife killed. He went over to the passenger side door and opened it to head on in.

"Hey," Lester said to him as he got in. "Hey!" he said to him louder.

"Let me guess," Dean said shutting the door behind him. "Lester?"

Lester narrowed his eyes at him. "Who are you?"

Dean leaned in. "Who do you think?" he asked before he flashed his black eyes at him for a moment.

"Whoa," he said backing up. "Oh," he said getting who Dean really was.

"Oh," Dean nodded with him. "What the hell are you doing here man?"

"Well, my contact," he then winked. Dean wanted to roll his eyes but nodded instead. "He told me that this was happening so I just wanted to come down here and make sure it gets done right."

"Ah, because you're the expert, huh?" he said sarcastically. Now Dean rolled his eyes. "Listen, and this is Murder 101. When you hire someone to kill your wife, you don't want to be around the hit goes down. It's called an alibi."

"Yeah, I know what an alibi is. I watch Franklin & Bash."

"Super. Listen, you sold your soul for this crap so," Dean said pointing out for Lester to just beat it.

"It's not crap," he cut in. "It's my life. And she flushed it down the toilet." Lester looked like he was about to cry.

Dean just looked at him. "Les, I'm going to say something and I need you to really listen to me. You're a loser. Your lady in there, she's a North Dakota 8. You're a 4 ½ max. I don't blame her for stepping out. Especially if she found out that you were messing around first."

Lester shook his head. "Oh, no, I wasn't-" But Dean just raised his right eye higher. "How do you know?"

"Hmm, you just got that Pervy, I'll-Do-Anything-To-Nail-My-Secretary look."

"Oh, no. It's different when guys do it."

"Really?"

"Yeah, it's called science. Men aren't built for…monogamy," he tried to excuse himself. "Because of evolution. We're programmed to, uh, spread our seed."

Dean heard enough and just let a hit loose on the guy's jaw. "Like I said, Loser. With a capital L. Rhymes with You Suck," he said glaring at the guy.

Lester held his bloody lip. "Yeah, well, you're a punk-ass demon! And you work for me now. So get in there and do your job you freak!"

Dean just calmly stared back at him. "And what are you going to do? You gonna watch? Huh? Is that what you like to do Lester? Watch? Well…watch this."

Dean then took out the First Blade and drove it straight into Lester's gut.

* * *

 **End of Chapter 3**

A/N: I know it's been a while. I had my hands full with a new story. Well, I'm back and ready to go back into this one.

The next chapter will have Cole and Dean having a face to face followed by Dean and Sam. Crowley returns with a familiar face.


	4. Reichenbach part 2

Chapter 4: Reichenbach part 2

Sam managed to re-pick Dean's trail and it led him to a strip club about two towns over from the bar that Dean and Crowley had been. He found that Dean had been there and had caused quite the scene. The bouncer of the bar had been beaten by him and his arm was in a sling.

"That's the guy," he said looking at Dean's picture. He handed the picture back to Sam as he went to grasp his gauzed hand. "I called 911 but he was gone before they showed up. Dude get to you too?" he asked indicating Sam's own arm in a sling.

"Oh," Sam said shaking his head. "No, this was just a hunting accident."

"Damn."

"Yeah," Sam nodded. "So, would you do me a favor? If you see him again, would you give me a call?"

The guy took Sam's card. "Yeah. You bet."

"Thanks."

Sam then headed back into his car and then prepared to head back on the trail, not noticing that he was being watched. Cole had been following Sam's trail ever since he 'got away'. He didn't quite understand what Sam was doing exactly but if he led him to Dean then that was all that mattered. When Sam pulled out of the lot, Cole started his jeep up and then started to pull out to keep on him.

* * *

Crowley was in the now empty bar as one of his associates was reading him a pitch that he had to improve Hell. Needless to say that Crowley wasn't having a good time.

"At the end of the day we have to strategically calibrate expectations so by making these 64 small changes I believe that we could increase our demon conversion rate by 0.03%"

Crowley just stared ahead as the words this demon was saying passed over him. His phone rang in the distance but he barely registered it as his second associate answered it for him.

"Sir?" the demon asked hanging up his phone. "Sir?"

"Kill me," Crowley muttered.

"Its Sam Winchester sir," the demon tried to continue. "He's close."

Crowley actually perked up a bit at that bit of news when the door opened and Dean started to strut on in. "Dean…how'd it go?" he asked him when he made it over to him.

Dean shrugged. "Fine. Fine, he's dead and you were right. I feel amazing."

Crowley nodded but froze when he considered all of Dean's words. "He?"

"Oh…Lester."

"The client?" Dean had killed the one who made the deal instead of what the deal was for? "You killed the client?!"

Dean shrugged again. "Does it matter? He was a douche. Now, he's a dead douche."

"Of course it matters! The deal was one dead wife for one soul. The wife's not dead, I don't get the soul," he went on to explain. "It's math."

Dean reacted to that by shrugging again. "Well…there you go."

Crowley became enraged when Dean started to walk off. "Hey! Don't turn your back on me," he scolded.

But Dean turned around and then shoved him back to fall to the floor with a chuckle and grin on his face. Crowley got to his knees and saw that his associates were both grinning at the sight of him and seemed to be fighting a laugh. Suddenly, Samael's words were coming back to him. How he mocked that he, Crowley the King of Hell, couldn't handle one 'baby' demon. He told him that his demons would laugh at him and the smirks on his associates were testament to his prediction.

"Something funny?" he spat at them.

"No sir," one of them said while he and the other tried to look impassive again.

"Good," he growled as he got back to his feet. He regained his composure as he stared Dean down who was smirking at him. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Oh, whatever I want," he said simply.

"Really?" Crowley said back. He was going to regain control of Dean and do it here and now showing that stuck up whore of an archangel his capability once and for all. "Because I think you don't know what you want. Tell me Dean, what are you? Demon? If so, why isn't Lester's wife dead? Did you feel _sorry_ for her? Maybe you think you're still human, except, you still have those pretty black peepers and you're working alongside me. So…why don't you do all of us a great big favor…and PICK A BLOODY SIDE!" he raved.

Dean just calmly stared back at him. "Or what?" he asked simply. Dean then started to move on closer to Crowley who was trying to hold his ground but it was clear that he was scared. "Go ahead," Dean said smugly to him. "Make a move. See how it ends."

Crowley swallowed down some of the fear that Dean was generating from him as he tried not to fall to pieces in front of his demons. If he faltered now, then he would not only never recover but would be proving Samael right and be forced to give in to his special request, which Crowley absolutely didn't want to do. Yet…as he looked at his demons, who were just staring at him and taking in his reluctance, it looked like that might come to pass.

"I'm not your freaking bestie and I'm not taking orders from you," Dean continued with his face losing the smugness and getting downright serious. "When I need to kill, I'll call, until then, stay out of my way," he said with his smugness making a return.

Crowley just nodded. "Fine…it's over. Crazy ones, they're good for a fling but they're not relationship material," he said trying to get the final word in.

Dean sucked on his teeth. "Are you done?"

"We're done," Crowley said. "Just remember Dean…this one's on you, not me." Crowley then left with his demons in tow.

Dean wondered what Crowley meant by that last part. Knowing him, the King of Hell was going to try and pull a fast one on him but Dean wasn't worried. What could he do? Crowley struggled with Abaddon and he wasted her no fuss, no muss. And he was even stronger now. There was nothing Crowley could do to stop him.

As Crowley left Dean, he glared on ahead. He wouldn't let Dean give any of his demons any ideas that they could screw him over and get away with it. Not when he just was starting to get control again after all that mess with Abaddon. He couldn't go up against Dean directly but then he didn't need to. Crowley had an ace up his sleeve that he had yet to publicly pull out as well as a really tall trump card that wasn't too far away.

* * *

Sam stepped out of the motel, eager to get back on the road and look for his brother as he headed for his car.

"Hello Bullwinkle."

Sam knew that voice. He turned around and sure enough, there was Crowley. He was calm and collected as always which only made Sam lose it even more.

"Miss me?" Crowley asked now that he had Sam's full gaze on him.

"So much." Sam then pulled out the knife.

"I'd think twice about that," Crowley said not even flinching.

"I don't need to think," Sam said before he threw it. But the blade stopped in mid-air. Crowley wasn't moving a muscle though. He was just calmly staring at the hunter as if he hadn't just tried to kill him. "What the hell?"

"Not exactly," Crowley said before looking off to the side.

Sam followed his gaze to see a young man with his hand out in the direction of the knife. It was a young man that Sam recognized.

"Lucas?" he asked.

It was. It was Lucas Marshall, the druid from Stanford that he and Dean came across when they were investigating a case in the area. Last he saw him was when he ran off when they and his fellow druid friend Orville tried to confront him when they learned that he had done the killing and even tried to kill him.

"Sam Winchester, as sharp as ever huh?" Lucas joked.

Then Crowley cut in. "Oh, right, I'd forgotten that you two were acquainted already but we're not here for a reminisce." He then took the knife from where Lucas froze it before tossing it over for Sam to catch it easily.

"What do you want now Crowley?" he spat as he glared back at him.

"Relax Moose, you're here for Dean right? I'll give him to you."

Sam narrowed his eyes. "What?

"Little prat is bad for business. He's…uncontrollable. Must be the Mark. Anyway, Dean's your problem now, again, forever."

"Where is he?" Sam demanded.

Crowley kept his cool. "First, there is the small matter of my finder's fee."

Sam glared harder at him as his grip on the knife tightened. He wasn't going to give Crowley anything. Not after everything he'd done to his brother. He brandished the knife in Crowley's direction. "Tell me where he is right now or I swear-"

But Sam couldn't say anything more after that because the words were caught his throat, along with everything else. He couldn't say anything else because it felt like his throat was clogged up. Sam turned and saw that Lucas had his hand out and was turning it around at his side as he calmly looked back at him.

"That's where the trouble starts with you hunters. Always bringing knives and your guns out before everything could be laid out," Lucas calmly said smirking at him.

Crowley let out a deep breath before he rolled his eyes at the young man. "Enough showboating Luke." Lucas then let his grip on Sam go and he started to cough slightly. "Now…where was I?" Crowley asked calmly to Sam.

Sam rubbed at his throat but relaxed as he looked back at him. To get Dean back, it looked like he would have to play by Crowley's rules, for now.

* * *

Joseph walked the long corridor of the prison with his footsteps echoing with every step he took. He kept walking passed the empty cells until he stopped at a particular one. Its occupant was dressed in a white straight jacket. The idea was actually Michael's which Joseph thought was poetic on itself.

"Oh boy, a visitor," slurred out the occupant sitting off in the far, barren corner. "And what a visitor. Joseph. What brings the Chief of the Powers to grace my cell?"

"Believe me, this isn't a leisure visit Metatron. I'm here to get information."

Metatron glared up at him. "The Demon Tablet? Like I told your Good Ole' Master Mikey, I don't know where it is. Be a good lap dog and tell him that you couldn't find the bones this time."

Joseph narrowed his eyes. "I'm not here for the Demon Tablet. Talk or don't, we'll find it eventually," he said confidently. "What I want is for you to tell me how much you know of the Angel Tablet."

Metatron was actually taken aback. "The Angel Tablet? Why would you ask about that?"

"Answer the question," Joseph pointedly said to him.

"I know every last scratch on it."

"So, you could tell me anything that is written on it?"

Metatron narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Why? Why would Michael want me to do that when you already have the tablet and Kevin Tran?" Joseph just glared at him. He didn't say anything but Metatron still learned what he needed. "This isn't for Michael, is it?" Joseph just glared at him. "And what would be on the Angel Tablet to make Joseph sneak around behind Michael's back for?"

Joseph tightened his jaw before he let out a frustrated sigh. "Tell me what you know of the ritual that we used to free Michael."

"Oh," Metatron said taking a seat. "A complex ritual that requires several items and ingredients, not to mention-"

"Skip the cliff notes Metatron," Joseph cut in. "Tell me what happens to the Saint after it is done."

Metatron leaned back slightly. "So, he's awake. How long has it been exactly? It's hard to keep track of the time when they don't even let you hang a calendar."

"Three months," said Joseph.

Metatron's eyes widened. "Oh…three months. Not as memorable as three days but to each his own."

Joseph narrowed his eyes. "Do you know what has happened to Daniel or not?"

"I do," he said simply. "Don't worry, he's not dying. But in the long run, you'll wish he had. It would spare him a great deal in the end."

"What do you mean by that? What do you know?"

Metatron leered at him. "My…the Great Joseph, frantic over a human. Who would've thought it," he said amusingly. "Don't fret, I'll tell you…but it will cost you."

"Cost me what?" he growled.

"Nothing much. What I want is actually quite small. The information is yours…if you let me go." Joseph glared at him. "Oh come on, you had to know that I wouldn't help you for free. There was going to be a price and I think you knew what I would ask for…and you wouldn't have even bothered unless there was some part of you that was willing to pay it."

Joseph was silent for a moment as he stared down at his feet. He then looked up at Metatron. "And, what may I ask would you do if you were free? You're not exactly popular with the angels these days Metatron. The Host would see you dead and I'm sure that Samael's movement wouldn't exactly welcome you back with open arms if he ordered Barbatos to give you your death."

Metatron just snorted. "You know what? I'm done with this planet. All of it. If you release me, believe me, you and the rest of Heaven, Hell and Earth will never see me again."

"We can have that just as well with you in this cell for all eternity."

"It would, but that wouldn't help you protect your precious Saint. Think about it Joseph…this may be the only chance you have to step in and help Daniel while there is still time."

"Do you really believe that I would agree to this?" he asked. "If I free you then I betray Michael."

"Yes…but if you don't then you betray Daniel," Metatron argued. He then got up and slowly walked for the bars. "Face it Joseph, no matter what you do you will end up betraying someone. Besides, I'm sure that Michael will let this slide, well at least for his prime lap dog. He'll get over it. But Daniel, from what I hear you've been perching on his shoulder for years. Just as long as Castiel has been with Dean and look at the lengths that he would go for his human. Are you saying that your loyalty isn't as firm to Daniel as Castiel's is to Dean?"

"No," Joseph grumbled back before he grabbed Metatron and slammed his head into the bars. "My loyalty is stronger. Ours, is stronger than theirs," he corrected.

"Then…prove it," Metatron growled. "I have the answers Joseph. And they are answers that you will need. Help me and I'll give you what you need to help Daniel, while there is still time. You can either betray Michael to save Daniel or you betray Daniel to serve Michael. Tell me, which is the lesser evil?"

Joseph let a puff of air loose from his nose. "With Castiel and Dean, all they seem to do is hurt and betray each other, Sam as well. Working with evil, committing evil, freeing evil. All to 'save one another'. Betraying those they claim they would die for to save them; tell me Metatron, how is that loyalty?"

"So you would betray Daniel? Well, what's the care of a human, even if he is the Saint, over the Great Archangel Michael?"

"Don't patronize them Metatron!" he spat. "Or me. I won't betray either Michael or Daniel. Freeing you would do just that and I wouldn't betray Daniel to save him. To have the ends justify the means, he wouldn't want I or his brother to do that," he said placing his hand over the heart of his vessel. "Letting you go _may_ help me help Daniel, but it would betray him as much as it would betray Michael. Perhaps even more. Make all the work, effort and sacrifice he made to clean up your mess be for nothing. You're right about one thing though. I had a feeling that your freedom would come in somewhere along the way but I never had any intention of giving it to you."

"Really? Then why did you bother coming here to me then if you weren't?"

Joseph shrugged. "I don't know. Call me naively optimistic but I thought that you would hope to try and redeem yourself for the sake of the Saint, of our Father's chosen. Give yourself some peace for you to have in your time here." Joseph gave him a short pause. "I guess that was too much to hope for from you then."

"Oh, don't waste any of it. Because you're going to need it from now until the time you realize that you should've taken my offer in the first place."

"Joseph?" said an approaching figure with echoing footsteps.

Both Joseph and Metatron turned to see the one joining them.

Joseph nodded. "Hello Raguel."

"Two Powers seeing me in one day. Wow, lucky me," Metatron said deadpanned as he carried himself over to sit back against the opposite wall of his cell.

"Is something wrong?" Raguel asked.

Joseph shook his head. "No. Everything's fine." He then turned to glare at Metatron. "In fact, they're great. You see…I brought Metatron here a cell-warming present."

He then reached into his jacket and pulled out something from its inner pocket. He then threw it to the floor by Metatron's feet. It was a paperback book. The title _Crime and Punishment_ out for all three of them to see.

Raguel actually cracked an amused smile. "That was nice."

"Oh how thoughtful," Metatron snipped.

"Cherish it Metatron," Joseph said with a slight smirk. "That's the only reading material you're ever going to get." He then began to make his way out of the cell area and his smirk faded slightly. Made worse when Metatron yelled his final words.

"He's worse a dead man walking. Hear me Joseph? Worse than a Dead Man Walking!"

Was Metatron right? Was something going to happen to Daniel after all? Or was it all just a desperate final ruse of his?

* * *

Dean was still at that mostly empty bar, sitting over at the piano playing a note or two. He looked at his hand and then ran the First Blade over it and cut into his palm. He watched as the cut magically healed itself. Crowley was right about one thing…there seemed to be some part of him that thought he was still human. Well, that just proved he wasn't. He was a demon now, and forever. All this stuff he'd been doing, the bars and the clubs, the thrill was starting to wear thin. The thought of doing these things forever was what he used to think was the ultimate paradise. Yet, it wasn't feeling the same anymore. It was…mundane. Maybe it was time to finally pick a side? His thoughts were cut short when he heard some soft footsteps and a certain human smell invaded his nose.

"Hiya Sam," he said putting the blade down and looking over at his brother. He then looked over at the bartender. "Hey Harv, why don't you grab a smoke?" he suggested to the man.

The human could see that something was about to go down and seemed to not want to be there so he just left. Dean did scare the man and didn't want to be on the wrong side of him. Sam seemed to notice that and wondered just how far his brother really had fallen if he could control other people like that.

Dean noticed the injury that Sam had. "What winged ya?" he asked slightly curious.

"Does it matter?" Sam muttered.

"Not really," he said shaking his head. He then reached for his drink on the piano. "I told you to let me go," he said before emptying the glass.

"You know I can't do that. By the way, your pal Crowley, sold you out."

Dean shrugged. "Sounds like him," he said not the least bit surprised. He then got up and took the First Blade in hand.

"Dean," Sam said trying to reason with him. "Look, you don't have to do this. We know how to cure demons, you remember that?"

"A little latin and a lot of blood," Dean said remembering the final trial. "Rings a bell…but did you ever stop to think that if I wanted to be cured then I wouldn't have bailed?"

"That was Crowley," Sam tried to argue.

"It really wasn't," Dean smirked at him before he went for a vodka bottle and poured himself a shot.

Sam gave him a hard look before he shook himself out of it. "It doesn't matter. Because, whatever went down, whatever has happened, we will fix it," he said, determined.

"Will we?" Dean smirked. "Because, right now, I'm doing all I can to not go over there and rip your throat out, with my teeth." His face fell and he was all out glaring at Sam now. "I'm giving you a chance Sam. You should take it."

"Well…I'm going to have to pass," Sam said not backing down.

Dean shrugged. "Well I'm not going to walk out that door with you ya know. I'm just not. So…what are you going to do then? Kill me?" he asked before drinking the vodka.

Sam shook his head. "No."

Dean smirked at him. "Why? You don't know what I've done. I might even have it coming."

Sam nodded his head but held his ground. "I don't care. Because you are my brother…and I'm here to take you home."

Dean downed the vodka and then he let a laugh loose. "Ahh. ' _You're my brother and I'm here to take you home'_ ", he mocked. "What is this, a Lifetime Movie? With those puppy dog eyes…oh, thanks Sammy. I needed that."

Sam just glared at him before he went and pulled out the cuffs from the dungeon at the Bunker. Just like the ones they used to keep Crowley at bay.

"You really think those are going to work?" Dean's tone was stiff but Sam could see that there was an ounce of concern mixed in there.

"One way to find out."

Yet before anything else could happen, a canister flew into the window and started to bathe the room in tear gas. Sam quickly got out of there and ran right into Cole Turner. The man looked stiffly at Sam before he went and knocked him out with a blow to the head.

Then Dean came over from the other exit of the bar and calmly walked over as he took in the scene of the guy standing over his knocked out brother. Cole could feel eyes watching him and quickly brought his gun out and turned. He turned until he saw the one person that he's wanted to find for the last ten years.

"Wow, it's really you," he said stepping closer to him.

Dean just narrowed his eyes. "Have we met?"

"Talked on the phone," Cole said getting closer.

Dean then nodded. "Right. You were the one that was supposed to put a bullet in Sammy's brain. Did you miss?" he said jokingly.

Cole wondered how this guy could talk so casually about something like that but shook it away immediately. "I had a better idea. Figured that if I let him go, he would go running right to you. All I had to do was just tag along. Now…here we are. Finally. Dean Winchester." Cole was smiling as he was finally where he had dreamed to be for so long.

"Great. A groupie," Dean joked completely nonplussed about the gun Cole had on him.

"Remember me?"

"Yeah…you're that guy from that thing," he shrugged.

"New York, June 21, 2003," he spat out.

Dean just shook his head. "Is that supposed to ring a bell?"

Now Cole outright glared at him. "It was the night that you gutted and killed a man by the name of Edward Trenton. He was my father."

Dean shrugged. "Okay."

"Okay?" Cole said widening his eyes.

"Hey, I'm not saying that I didn't slice and dice your old man. I'm just saying that he wasn't the first and he certainly won't be the last and they sort of get blended up after a while." Dean said this like it was an amusing mistake. Like forgetting a lunch date or something.

And Cole only felt the burn in his heart getting hotter. "I saw you. That night. After you let me live and that was dumb. Real dumb." Cole tightened his hold on his gun. "I spent half my life...training for this moment. I've played out this fight a thousand times in my mind. And I know all about you Dean-O. You're good...but I'm better."

"Yeah...well here I am," Dean said bringing his hands out with a smug smile. "Prove it. Take a shot. I dare you."

Cole gripped the gun but he then put it away at the holster on his leg. "Well, that's no payback. At least, not like this," he said pulling out a large knife instead. Like the kind Dean had used that night. "This is the payback."

Cole then went to stab Dean but he easily caught Cole's wrist and twisted it to make him let go of the knife and drop it to the ground before Dean whirled him around and away from him a few paces. Cole tried to go for him again and threw a kick at him but Dean grabbed his leg, bent it, and took the gun from the holster Cole had put it in a few moments ago.

"You know...and I'm just spitballing here," Dean smirked as he emptied the clip out of the gun. "But maybe you are not good as you think you are." He then threw the gun off after he emptied it. Cole then did a fighting stance and Dean let a laugh loose. "Ohhh, you know Kung Fu?"

"I know everything," Cole breathed.

Dean shook his head at him. "Well? Come on."

Sam started to recover and watched as Cole tried to fight against Dean bare handed. He had to put a stop to this. Or else Dean would tear that guy apart. He rushed back into the bar for the cuffs and holy water he left in there. He went to the floor and noticed that the cuffs were gone. Had Dean taken them?

"Looking for these?"

Sam looked over to see the cuffs dangling in the hands of Lucas who was staring blankly at him.

"Give me those," he demanded.

"Sure," he said throwing them for Sam to catch. "But, you're going to need more than that flask to bag your brother. Especially with only one arm."

"Like what?"

Lucas smirked. "Me."

Back outside, Dean was rendering all of Cole's efforts useless. Every punch and kick Cole threw at him Dean was either able to block or turn around at him. Cole was getting angrier at the fact that he couldn't even land a solid hit on him. That made him vulnerable to Dean tossing him to the ground.

"What did you think was going to happen?" Dean said circling him like a shark. "Huh? You stroll up here...say my name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die." He was outright laughing at the guy. "And I'd just roll over? Well, that's just...that makes me sad," he continued to play with the guy. He didn't see Cole pull out a spare knife so he was cut across the face when he struck at him. But Dean quickly grabbed his arm and then grabbed his neck and rendered him helpless. "You have no idea what you walked into, do you? None."

Cole watched the cut he gave Dean's cheek heal. "What are you?"

Dean smiled at him. "I'm a demon." Then his eyes went on to be pitch black.

A demon? That was all he thought before Dean went and started to beat down on him.

Dean headbutted him in the face and then started to beat every corner of him that his hands and feet could reach. He then put him against the car and pulled out the First Blade and held it against his throat.

"Go on," Cole spat. "Do it! You said that you would kill me when you saw me so do it."

Dean shrugged. "Guess I changed my mind." He then threw Cole face first into the ground. He then caught the sight of footsteps and saw his brother approaching for him with a flask out. "Oh Sammy, you're starting to embarrass yourself. You really think that's enough to bring me down?"

"No," Sam said. "But he is."

Sam looked to the side and Dean looked over himself to see someone standing there calmly. Dean knew him. It was that young druid/witch or whatever from Stanford that had killed a football player and got away. He smirked at Dean before he brought his hand out and a shimmer of red light escaped his palm and connected with Dean. Suddenly, Dean felt whoozy as if it was taking all of his strength to just keep himself standing. Sam then went and dunked him with holy water and his skin burned where the water made contact. Sam then dropped the flask and pulled out the cuffs in his pocket and quickly cuffed Dean's hands together to his back. Dean was still in pain and sapped of his strength from the witch's spell. Dean growled and grunted but it did little to stop it.

"It's over Dean!" Sam shouted. "It's over."

Sam then looked and noticed that Cole was nowhere to be found.

* * *

Cole had watched as Sam took that flask he had pulled from his bag before and threw its water on Dean which made smoke appear as it was acid and burn him. If he remembered correctly, Sam had said that it was Holy Water. He crawled further away and forced himself to his feet. He then stumbled off with the echo of Dean's grunts as he heard Sam yell that it was over. He was starting to see that Sam was telling him the truth earlier when he spoke of monsters. Not only that, but he learned that Dean was a greater monster than he first thought he was and all of his training and preparation didn't help him in the least. He had to find prepare a different way.

He got to his car and drove off for the local library. He stomped on over to the mythology section as he let himself lean on the shelves as he looked the spines over.

A librarian noticed him pouring over the shelves. "May I help you?" She then noticed that Cole looked hurt. "Do you need some help?" she asked concerned.

But Cole only wanted one thing from this place. He gave the librarian a cold, hard look. "Give me every book you have on demons," he said simply.

* * *

Dean was safely bound and secured in the back of the Impala when Crowley showed up. He looked to Dean in the backseat to Sam, to Lucas. "Well done Lucas."

Lucas smiled as he bowed to him. "Thank you sir. It was an honor to serve you."

"Expect a nice good performance bonus coming your way," Crowley said before waving his hand at him and Lucas was gone. He then looked at the glaring face of Sam Winchester. "Know your position and respect your elders. You really do have to drill it into them when they're young or you get...well Winchesters."

Sam just glared at him as he looked at the First Blade in his hands. He wished that the thing worked in his hands because he really wanted to ram it into Crowley's smug face. But still...a deal is a deal. Which Crowley seemed to love reminding him when he held his hand out for it. "What are you going to do with it?"

Crowley shrugged. "Toss it into a volcano. Leave it on the moon. I'll get creative. Believe me, I don't want Dean getting his hands on the precious any more than you do. Your brother knows I ratted and tends to hold a grudge. I don't want to get...boned."

Sam then handed the thing over. "This doesn't make us square." He then pointed at him. "If I see you again-"

"Oh stop it Samantha," Crowley rolled his eyes. "No one likes a tease."

Sam then headed for the car. Crowley looked over and saw Dean giving him a blank look but his eyes held a good degree of malice in them.

* * *

Sam was driving down the highway, heading back for the bunker, with Dean bound in the back. It had been silent for the last few hours. Not a word said by either of them. While this had happened in the past, this time was for far worse than all the others combined.

"This thing is filthy," Sam remarked. There was litter about and the windows even looked a little creasy. He couldn't remember the last time that the Impala was in this kind of shape. Dean always made sure that it was as clean and looked after.

But Dean just rolled his eyes. "It's just a car Sam."

Sam spared Dean a look through the mirror. He couldn't believe that Dean, of all people, just said that about the Impala. "It's just a...wow, you really have gone dark."

"You have no idea."

Sam shook his head. "You know what Dean, I saw what happened back there. You could've killed that guy but you didn't. You took mercy on him."

Dean just smirked on at him. "You call that mercy? Imagine that you spent your whole life looking for the guy that knifed your father. You finally find him, he whips you like a dog. How do you think that feels like?" he asked with some cheer in his voice. "That kid is going to spend the rest of his life knowing that he had his shot and he couldn't beat me. That ain't mercy Sam. That was the worst thing I could've done to him."

Sam started to feel his insides going cold. He never heard his brother talk like that before. He'd been hateful in the past but it was never with the pure joy and glee that he just had.

Dean wasn't finished. "And what I'm going to do to you Sammy...that isn't going to be mercy either."

Sam just breathed and kept on driving. The sooner Dean was in the Bunker then the sooner he could begin working to get his real brother back.

* * *

Crowley was looking the First Blade over before he set it down and went for his phone. He looked over the pictures of him and Dean during their little bromancing adventure. He actually felt a little sorry that it was now over.

Crowley then reluctantly put his phone away. He turned to his associates just in time for him to turn his head again towards the doors when the sounds of screaming were heard from beyond that door. He could see the light of an angel's grace leaking from the cracks.

"Bullocks," Crowley growled.

* * *

Abel had been tracking Dean Winchester's trail from the scenes of the killings to a bar where he had found a barmaid coated with it. After he took the woman aside and then scanned through her memories, he saw how his distant descendant and turned into a complete jackass in between leaving dead bodies behind. Then he picked up the trail from this woman and followed it to a strip club where he looked into the mind of a wounded man. Through his memories, he found that both Dean and Sam Winchester had come along which meant he was closer than ever to finding the new carrier of the Mark.

The trail finally brought him to this new bar where he was greeted with the presence of demons. As soon as he entered the building he was charged by a demon but he quickly grasped his head and smote him. Two more demons came rushing for him with angel blades out but he quickly brought out his two new swords and ran them right through them both at once. The demons imploded in on themselves and Abel then pulled his swords free which made both fall to the ground in ungraceful flumps. Abel detected a high level of demonic energy in the main room and blasted the doors open as he calmly strode in. The room was empty but there was fresh sulfur in the air.

"Damn," Abel muttered.

He stepped out into the back area where he found more traces of the trail from the Mark. It wasn't from too long ago. Maybe he could still catch up.

* * *

 **End of Chapter 4**

A/N: That concludes this 'episode'. Things are really cooking now. Sam has Dean back and Cole is now more determined than ever to take him down. I hope you like both Lucas and Abel's surprise reappearances.

The next chapter will have Sam trying to purify Dean with his blood but it doesn't seem to do anything. Sam and Castiel are stumped on why until someone arrives to give Sam the answer, as well as a solution. Also, Crowley resumes his work to try and re-stabilize the demons but he gets uninvited guests that shake up all of Hell.


	5. Soul Survivor

Chapter 5: Soul Survivor

Sam was watching his watch with intensity as he waited for the mark of the final hour. Dean was strapped to the chair in the dungeon of the Bunker in the middle of the Devil's Trap as he leered over at him.

"Tick tock Sammy. I may not be wearing a watch but I can tell the witching hours is close."

Sam then stood up and readied the syringe. "One minute away."

Dean snorted. "Sam, I know you think you could _fix_ me but did it ever occur to you that I don't want to be _fixed_? Let me go and live my life. I won't bother you. What do you care?"

"What do I care?" Sam repeated at him in disbelief. Even as Dean was now, did he really need to ask him that question? Sam took the flash of holy water and prepared the way for the final injection. Unlike the last time with Crowley, he was definitely going to go through with it and nothing would stop him. He sprayed the holy water around and chanted the latin he needed for the cleansing.

Dean just rolled his eyes. "Do you think that is working? Have you seen me, at all, getting all weepy right as you shoot me up? I'm not Crowley Sam. There's a hell of a lot more running in me than just demon juice."

Sam finished the pre-cleansing. "Mark of Cain," he nodded. "Yeah, got it." He didn't want to admit it but Dean had a valid point. Why wasn't he showing any signs? Crowley had been made a mess by this point with him but Dean looked exactly the same as he did when he first started. Was the Mark stopping this from working? But he shook his head. He couldn't afford to think like that. " _Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus spiritus. Hanc animam redintegra, lustra! Lustra_!" Sam then took the syringe and approached his brother. "Knuckle up."

"Again Sammy? I said it before the last seven times and I'll say it again. I hate shots," he hissed.

"Well I hate demons," Sam said before he spilled some holy water at him before he went and injected his brother on the arm with his blood.

He jumped back as Dean started to roar, hiss and fidget in the chair. He looked to be in pain and was shouting out at the top of his lungs. Sam just watched in pain as he saw his brother writhing in agony. But then, Dean just stopped. His body just slagged down and his head dropped. It looked like he was lifeless. Sam managed to take a step forward before Dean started to softly moan and then raise his head up slowly. His expression was soft and his eyes were wide in confusion. Dean looked much different than he was a minute ago. Sam let out a breathless smile. For a moment, he thought that he had succeeded.

Until Dean's eyes went black. The soft expression he had on went into a savage smirk as he let a chuckle loose. "Man, I really had you going there, didn't I?" Sam looked horrified. That only made Dean happier. He started to laugh. "You should've seen the look on your face. Oh man, it was priceless."

Sam couldn't believe it. It didn't work.

* * *

 **Supernatural**

* * *

Castiel was standing off the side of the road at night and was on the phone. Sam called him as soon as he could to tell him what had happened, or rather what didn't happen.

"Are you sure you followed the instructions carefully?" he asked the hunter.

"Yeah Cas, of course I did. You think I'm an idiot, this is Dean we're talking about. I did everything, to the letter, just like last time. It didn't do a thing." Sam then went and gave a kick to the chair next to him. The angel on the other end was silent and he let out a sigh of frustration. "I'm sorry," he said, his tone softer.

"No, it's understandable Sam. I'm worried too."

"Cas…why didn't it work?"

"I couldn't begin to guess. Dean's case is different. He isn't the usual sort of demon."

Sam then went and sat down. "So what do we do then?"

"Well I believe an exorcism is out of the question."Castiel took a moment to look off into the distance. He could feel that Sam wanted him to tell him something, anything to give him some kind of hope but he didn't think that would be the best thing to do now. "I don't think there's anything we can do," he said honestly.

"There has to be Cas," Sam insisted.

"Well, if there is then you might not have much time to find what it may be. Dean won't be bound in that simple Devil's Trap for very long. The spell that you had the witch place on him will wear off soon and Dean will reclaim his full strength soon after. And you will be the first one he vents his rage on."

"I'll keep trying," Sam muttered. "Maybe more blood will help."

"Sam, you can't give up more. It could kill you."

Sam tightened his hold on the phone. "That's a risk I'm going to have to take then."

Sam then ended the phone call and Castiel stared back at the phone solemnly. The angel believed that Sam was now starting to desperately grasp at straws. More sanctified blood could help but he didn't know if it would indeed work. He wanted Dean back just as much as Sam did, but, he knew that no matter what…the demon in Dean had to be destroyed or many would suffer.

* * *

Crowley was sitting on a fancy throne like chair as one of the many Abaddon loyalists yet to be punished was brought before him.

"You stand accused of high treason," he said reading from the parchment. He then looked at the demon being held by one of his subordinates. "Take her away," he ordered. The criminal was taken off while he put the parchment away and took on the next one. "Oh, goody. Something else to sign," he said with no height to his tone at all.

"Majesty," a demon in an older looking vessel said stepping forward. "Supplements wait outside."

Crowley shrugged. "So let them wait."

"They've waited a long time," he supplied.

"It's Hell. You wait, it's what you do," he said not faltering. He turned to see if there were any more papers but saw that the demon didn't leave. "You're still here?"

"I also have an update on the angel Castiel." That got Crowley's attention. "It seems as if he has recently recharged his grace."

"How?"

"He stole another angel's that tried to kill him. He's back to full strength, for the moment but it would only be a matter of time before this new charge fades as well."

"Yes," Crowley nodded. "Borrowed grace does have a puny shelf life. Castiel should've read the warning label." He looked to the demon. "Follow him. Keep me informed as to his future decline," he ordered.

The demon bowed his head and headed out. Crowley then settled back in his chair as memories of his time with Dean invaded his mind. He found himself feeling a little…empty. He was starting to actually miss how it was for the last few three weeks.

"Great one? Your majesty," a demon said breaking him from his thoughts. "Are you alright?"

"Thinking of better days," he said morosely.

"Yes," the demon smiled. "Your sabbatical."

"My what?" Crowley said leering at him.

"We were worried of course," the demon quickly started to explain. "Your misadventure with the older Winchester quite the topic of speculation." That made Crowley's eyes narrow a bit. The demon swallowed nervously. "If you'll forgive my boldness?" Crowley nodded. "I could now be your wingman," he offered.

"Could you?" Crowley asked deeply.

The demon shrugged. "I, too, love to party. And I do love the ladies," he added happily. "And the classic rock and roll. Most importantly, I can debauch by your side without being a personal embarrassment. You'll see what I-"

But Crowley then snapped his fingers and made the demon vanish in a puff of black smoke. "Any one else care to comment?" Crowley asked to the room at large. The demons all either shook their heads or just stared down at the floor. "Well then…what's next on the agenda?"

He was then handed a new parchment as a new demon was brought before him. He read the parchment said and nodded. "You have coerced others into aligning with Abaddon. Spread rumors and fostered doubts of competence and authority to the Crown." The demon just glared on at him. "Guilty of treason," he declared as he handed the parchment to his assistant. "Sentence is Death." A demon came forth with an angel blade and executed the prisoner down right there in front of them all. "Any one else hungry to betray me?!" he asked the room.

A new demon was then brought forth in front of Crowley and he was handed a new parchment. Crowley barely glanced at the parchment he was holding. "You're guilty…of something. Which I won't tolerate. Whatever it was. You are condemned-"

But Crowley was stopped by the doors to his throne room blowing hard and wide opened. The force knocked the demons off their feet and had some fly through the air and land just feet from Crowley. The King stood up from his throne as he looked to the hall just ahead where he heard the sound of footsteps. Some of the demons managed to get to their feet and pull out their angel blades, ready to face whoever it was that was barging in. Crowley kept his gaze at the door and his eyes widened at who came around the corner into sight.

It was Samael. He came strutting in wearing one of his usual high end choice of modeling clothes with two other angels at his side. Two demons tried to charge them but the angels at Samael's side pulled out swords, not blades, swords. The blades were jammed into their demon attackers effortlessly and they continued walking on with Samael.

The archangel walked on until he was about seven feet from Crowley and he stopped and put his hands behind his back. "I figured there was a line but I'm not the waiting type. Believe me, I've had too much of that already."

"Samael," Crowley said sitting back down in his throne. "You're here. And I see you brought guests." He then looked at the angel in the body of a teenager. "The legendary Barbatos, in the body of Ben Braeden no less, I must say what a pleasure." Barbatos just narrowed his eyes at him. Crowley then looked at the other angel. "I'm sorry. Who are you again?"

But a new voice answered that. "His name's Eligor." Crowley and all the demons looked to the door and a few of them froze in fear. Standing there was Cain, The Father of Murder. "He taught me everything I know."

"An Archangel. A…former Power. And a Grigori, I believe, correct?" he asked pointing at Eligor who was staring at him with a somewhat pissed set of eyes. Crowley tried to keep his bearings being stared down by these three powerful angels and by Cain as well even though he seemed to just be slouching harmlessly against the far wall. "And Cain too. My…I didn't expect so many VIP's to grace my throne room today."

Barbatos' eyes widened. "Throne room?" He then looked around. "Cozy, in that cheap, run down, boiler room sort of way." That made Crowley glare at him.

"Well, what can I do for all of you today?" he asked.

"As if you didn't know," Samael said with a smirk. "You have a debt to pay Crowley."

"I do?" he asked as if he didn't know what the angel was talking about.

"Yes. You were given Dean and the First Blade to use at your beck and call. But you instead made him your bromance partner and you lost control of your boytoy." Samael then took his hands from behind his back and brought them to his side. "I told you that if you couldn't handle him then I would be here for the flip side of that coin. It's time to pay the piper Crowley. Really, making a debt collector have to come to you in person, that's not very professional of the King of Hell."

That made a few of the demons in the room grin a bit in amusement. Grins that Crowley caught and he stared hard at the archangel. "Well I'll have to professionally decline. I just got done dealing with Abaddon and the chaos she caused. I'm not about to willingly let another of your hellbound children come around and make more."

"Then perhaps you should've thought of that when you decided to let Sam Winchester whisk his brother away," Eligor said. "Maybe you should done more reeling and less drinking with the Winchester and you wouldn't be having this problem."

Crowley's face hardened. "The answer is no."

Samael brought his bottom lip out and nodded his head. He then brought both his hands out and snapped his fingers. The demons all around Crowley suddenly exploded in clouds of black smoke just like Crowley had done to that one demon from before. That made the King swallow nervously as he looked to see that he was now alone to face his four new guests.

"Care to change your answer?" Samael asked calmly but the fierceness in his eyes was all too clear.

* * *

The town of Lebanon had two churches. One was in full working order and the other was condemned. Sam went to the condemned one to purify himself through confession. Before when he went to prepare to cure Dean he had come here to confess and purify himself. However, for some reason, the confession didn't work. Last time he confessed like this, Crowley was an emotional wreck with his blood but this time his blood didn't seem to have the slightest effect on Dean. He wondered if maybe the reason that he couldn't purify Dean was because there was something wrong with how he confessed the latest thing he had to confess about. What it was that he did to try to find Crowley. Maybe he should confess what he felt when he did what he felt he had to do.

There was some light as the sunlight peaked through the stained colored windows and the holes in the walls. He went into the run down and dusty booth and sat down on the old stool inside. Sam cleared his throat and let a frustrated breath out. "Um, I know that I came here just a day ago but…I think I might have…left something out the last time. It's actually kinda big…I don't know why I felt I couldn't mention it. Maybe I was ashamed…but I guess that's the point of this whole thing, right?"

"No, I actually think you missed the whole point Sam."

Sam practically flew out of the booth and quickly pulled out his gun and aimed it and the door to the door next to him. "Who's there?! Come out!" he demanded.

The doorknob slowly turned and the old door creaked open. Sam watched as a young man dressed in a jacket over a hooded sweater step out. He had a calm look on his face despite the fact that Sam was pointing a gun at him.

"Just so you know that gun isn't needed. Wouldn't do any good even if it was," he said calmly to him.

"Who are you?!" Sam demanded again tightening his grip on his gun.

The newcomer just stared at him with his calm and tranquil face not faulting for a moment. "My name is Abel."

Sam's eyes widened and his face fell a bit. He even loosened his stance at him. "Abel? As in Cain's brother Abel?"

Abel nodded. "Yes. It's good to finally meet you Sam. Though I wish the circumstances behind our meeting were better than this."

Sam still couldn't believe it. He was actually looking at Abel. THE Abel. He was kind of what he expected. He seemed to be a humble looking person, gentle as well. The whole time he hadn't lost that calm stance with him. But then Sam remembered what Castiel had told them. Abel had become an angel. One that was a close ally to the Powers.

"What are you doing here Abel?"

Abel looked off towards the direction of front doors. "I have been trying to track my brother."

"Cain," Sam said.

Abel nodded though kept his gaze away from Sam. "Ever since he was freed from his imprisonment I have been following his trail to try and stop him before he unleashes a new wave of blood over these lands."

"So, Cain is here?"

"No," Abel said turning to Sam. "Not long ago, I felt a new disturbing presence that was a near carbon copy of Cain. It emerged during the Feast of Saint Michael. Imagine my surprise to find that the presence originated at the Paradise Pavilion." Abel's calm exterior started to ebb way and his eyes went into narrow and his jaw tightened as he glared disapprovingly at Sam.

"Dean. You're after Dean," he said breathlessly.

"Sam…how could you let your brother take on the Mark of Cain?"

"I didn't! I was nowhere around when he did that."

"Do you have any idea what Dean has done to himself?" Abel said as if Sam didn't say anything at all. "What he has branded himself with? Do you?!"

Sam nodded. "I think I've gotten a pretty good idea. But I can save him."

Abel's glare softened a bit from that. "You can't."

"No, I can. I can purify him and he'll turn back to his old self. I…I nearly did it before."

The angel nodded. "The third of the Hell Trials. Yes, I was made aware. Why else do you think we are having this problem?" he said with the disapproving glare making a comeback. "Besides, it won't work."

"It will," Sam spat stubbornly.

"No, it won't. You won't be able to purify him Sam as I'm sure you've already seen."

Sam's face softened. "What are you talking about?"

"When your brother's trail led me to this area, I guessed that you had him. We know that the bunker belonging to the Men of Letters is in this vicinity due to Daniel acquiring Kevin Tran here. And I guessed that your first impulse would be to try and cure him. Your blood must be sanctified to do so which means you must purify yourself and so I waited here for you knowing it was only a matter of time. However, it seems as if you have already tried from what you just said. That means that you can sit here confessing until you're blue in the face but it won't make any difference."

"And why wouldn't it when it worked before?"

"Because your motivations must be pure as well. Sam, the last time you did this, you were sincere in both your confession and your motivations. That is why you were purified. Now…they are a little less than pure." Abel was talking to him as if he was scolding a little child for trekking dirt into the house.

Sam narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean?"

Abel caught his eyes. Sam didn't know why but he felt as if Abel was looking right into his very soul with that gaze. "I can see it. What you did to get to your brother. Who you had to hurt to get him back. How could you go on and believe that you are still on the 'right' side?" Now he sounded sorry for him.

Sam bit the inside of his cheek. "I had no choice."

"Are you trying to convince me or yourself? You could confess to that sin Sam but it won't purify you. To confess means that you regret the choice you made and if you could take it back. But the fact is you don't regret it at all. You know that it was wrong and yet you would do it again if it was what it took to get your brother back. The only reason you're even confessing is to get your brother back. Your motivations are for personal gain which is why you won't be able to purify Dean at all. It's ironic really. Your love and need to save Dean is what is keeping you from doing so."

Sam shut his eyes as he let Abel's words roll around in his head. Was Abel right? Was he truly unable to save Dean because he couldn't let himself be pure? He thought back to his time of trying to find Dean. How he was so determined to find and save him. What he did…it was terrible. And…he did feel sorry for what he did but he was finding himself feeling the slightest bit of justification because it might've led him to Crowley and, by extension, to Dean. Sam opened his eyes at that thought and knew that Abel might be telling him the truth. He couldn't be purified.

"Then what can I do?"

Abel took a deep breath. "You can give Dean to me. I'll take care of him."

"You can help him?"

"I can stop him," Abel said pointedly.

Sam glared at him. "You want to kill him?"

Abel shook his head. "No. I don't want to kill him. If you hand him to me then I can get to work on sealing him away. Just like I did to Cain."

"What? No! There has to be another way!"

"There isn't!" Abel cut in. "Sam, the man that you called your brother is all but gone. In his place is a monster that knows nothing of morality or mercy. He must be locked away before too many people fall victim to him."

Sam just shook his head. "No. I can't. Please, let me try to save him."

"Dean can't be saved Sam. No more than Cain could be saved." His hard face softened a bit. "Believe me, I know what I'm asking of you and I understand your feelings. He's your big brother and though he may be aggravating and domineering to you, you still love him. But our personal feelings can't be placed in front of the greater good."

"Yeah, because you're always about the greater good, right?" Sam spat at him. He was starting to see that Abel was just like the others. Always about the mission and never considering people's feelings in anything.

Abel just stared at him. "Yes. Sam, you could be mad at me but this isn't my fault or that of my angel brethren. As much as you would like it to be we are not at fault here. The only one that could be blamed for this is Dean. He made his choice. He chose to be selfish and power-hungry. I'm merely presenting you with the consequences that stemmed from that choice."

"Dean is far from perfect but that doesn't mean that he should be thrown into some hell pit for all eternity. You know, I can see how you're in good with the Powers. You're just like Michael. Your brother causes too much trouble so you just throw him in some fiery hole so he could be out of sight and out of mind. No wonder they made you an angel," he spat.

Abel seemed livid with Sam after that. "Don't operate under the delusion that you are somehow better than me Sam Winchester," he spat. "You think me as selfish? My own brother killed me out of fear. Fear of losing me to Lucifer. That angel may had been talking to me, trying to corrupt me, but that didn't mean that I was going to fall to him. That was my moment, my test, and Cain took it from me. Why? Because he was doing what was best for me? No, he was doing what was best for himself." Abel as now more pained than angry. "Cain became a demon and our little brother spent his life being in constant danger from him. For thousands of years he spread death and destruction and he claims it was all for me. Am I supposed to feel grateful?" He then let out a breath that he seemed to have been holding. "Tell me Sam, are you grateful for all that Dean has done for you?"

"Of course," he said immediately.

"Really? So you are grateful for him selling his soul. Being sent to Hell. Tortured for decades and then torturing and disemboweling thousands. Dean did all that for you too Sam. Tell me, are you grateful for all that?"

Sam actually seemed to be taken aback by that. Of course he wasn't grateful for any of that. He didn't want any of that for Dean. But that was then. He had to help his brother now. "Abel, please, you must know something that can help. If you say that you understand me right now then help me. Help me save my brother."

Abel just let a sigh loose. "Sam…I am helping you. Just not in the way that you may like but it is the way that you need. And this is the only way…but, it has to be your choice."

"Then I choose no," Sam said immediately. His eyes staring back at the angel with ice cold precision.

Abel shut his eyes and then nodded. "Very well." He started to walk off for the front door. "When you decide to finally do the right thing, send me a prayer." He then exited out into the daylight.

Sam ran after him but Abel was nowhere in sight. He then looked back at the confession box. That wouldn't help him now. He knew that. He couldn't purify himself and use his blood…but maybe there was another way after all. He would show Abel that there was always a way.

* * *

In a suburban home in Detroit, there was a man stepping out into the backyard and letting out a huge sigh as soon as he did. The sound of very loud talking could be heard from inside. The man just rolled his eyes and stepped out to take in the dimming afternoon sun. There was a table set with an umbrella pole set up in the middle and it suddenly fell over. The man went over and picked it up and put it back. He took two steps when the umbrella fell over again. The man narrowed his eyes as he went to pick up and put it back in its place again. However, it fell over again. The man was taken aback before his eyes widened when the whole table started to visibly shake. He looked down at the ground as he felt some kind of shaking. He tried to move away but he fell and landed on his backside in time to see a small pillar of red smoke shoot up from the ground like a geyser. It was right where the table was and it flew off across the yard as the smoke gathered in the air like a mini hurricane swirl. The man tried to back away but he only made it an inch before the smoke went for him. His scream was drowned out as the smoke jammed itself into his mouth.

The noise drew out a man and a woman from the house into the backyard. They were looking at the sight with rage and horror.

"Pete, what the hell happened here?" the man said looking from the hole in the ground to the flipped over outdoor table set.

The man was sitting on the ground facing away from them. He slowly got to his feet and then turned over to look at them.

The woman narrowed her eyes. "Pete, what going on with you?"

The man's eyes then changed to a deep and lightless blue. "I think the real question is what is going on with you? The both of you," he said looking at the two humans who were staring at him with their mouths wide opened.

"Oh my god," the woman whispered.

"Not quite. Though, I can help you. I can feel it," he said closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. "So much repression, why do you humans always lock it up? You shouldn't hold in your rage, let it all out. Let me free you." He then opened his eyes and they shined a little brighter.

Suddenly, the two humans seemed to have a slight pain come over their heads before they went and glared at each other.

The man pointed at her. "I'm supposed to just stand back while you make all these decisions about our money without me!"

"What does it matter to you?" she shouted back at him. "You're never home. Either working or sneaking off to screw some new bimbo at the office."

That got the man to slap her which she answered with a right hook to the man's jaw. They started to roll around on the ground, scratching, pulling and hitting on one another. The demon just stood there and took a deep breath as if he was inhaling a sweet aroma that descended on them. The woman then went and took the fallen umbrella and jammed it into the guy's arm stabbing him. She got above him and brought it down on him. Repeatedly stabbing him until the splattered blood covered her face.

* * *

Sam sneaked a doctor's smock as well as ID card from the local hospital. He asked then asked a local priest to bless the blood in the hospital's blood depository, telling him that the family of a transfusion patient wanted to be extra assured that he would recover. The priest was more than happy to do it. The man prayed and sanctified the blood for him without a second thought. This man's intentions were pure and this blood would surely be as pure.

"Doctor," the priest nodded when he was done.

"Thank you Father," Sam said shaking the priest's hand.

He realized that he was changing the process but the lore said that the blood had to be pure but didn't necessarily have to be his. He hoped it worked. He took what he needed and then headed back for the bunker. Dean was in the same position that he left him in. It finally broke when he saw the medical cooler.

"Really?" Dean said with a smirk.

"For what it's worth. I got your blood type," Sam said with a small smile.

"Your own juice didn't work so you going to give me someone else's kool-aid? Do you think this is going to work any better."

Sam began the sanctifying procedure and then readied a syringe and took some blood from one of the bags. "One way to find out." He then went over and stuck it in Dean's neck. Dean grit his teeth and actually looked like he was in real pain. He actually tried to fight against the bonds restraining him to the chair. "I'd say that a good sign." Dean let out a roar at that. It wasn't human. It was…monstrous. "That was just the first one. There's still plenty more to go so you might as well make it easier on yourself," Sam breathed out.

Dean just glared at him and grit his teeth.

He did that every time Sam injected him with the new sanctified blood. They were now on the fifth one. Dean was now panting slightly after that one.

"Great Sam. Substituting the recipe. Didn't take you for being a gourmet…but for all you know your little tweak could be killing me."

Sam just put the syringe down. "Yeah…or you're just messing with me. Either way, the lore doesn't say anything about exceptions to the cure."

That made Dean start laughing a bit. "The lore. Hunters. Men of Letters. And now friggin' Michael's Battalion. What a load of crap it all is." He stared at Sam who just looked back at him bitchfaced. "What, you got nothing?"

"You want me to…debate you? This isn't even the real you I'm even talking to."

"Oh, this is the real me alright," Dean nodded his head. "The new real me. The me that sees things for what they really are. Winchesters…Do-gooders. Fighting the Natural Order. Let me tell you something. Guys like me _are_ the Natural Order. It's the way it was set up."

"Guys like me," Sam cut in. "Still got to do what he can to save people from the monsters out there. Even keep them from being one." Seeing Dean go on like this brought a chill to Sam's spine. Because he was starting to look exactly like Abel said he was. A monster without morals or mercy.

But Dean rolled his eyes. "Don't fool yourself Sammy. From where I'm sitting, there's not much difference from what I turned into to what you already are."

"What is that supposed to mean?" he asked heatedly.

"I know what you did," Dean said calmly. "When you went looking for me. I know how far you went. Crowley, he told me all about it. So…let me ask you. Which one of us is really the monster? Hmm?" He then leaned his head in closer.

Sam looked away. He knew what Dean was talking about. It was the same thing that Abel was talking about. What he did that kept him from using his blood to cure Dean. It was over a week ago. He had been looking for Dean and had gone into a bar to get a much needed drink. He then heard a guy, drunk, talk about his problems with his wife. His name was Lester and Sam saw that the guy was depressed and angry and it gave him an idea. He told the guy of a way to get anything he wanted, even his troubles fixed.

Dean smirked at Sam's reaction so he kept going. "You tried to get a twenty on Crowley and me from any demon you could snag. But Crowley didn't want to be found and no one showed when you summoned. But…you found a way, didn't you Sam?" he said with a bit of a chuckle.

Sam had taken Lester to a crossroads and made him summon a demon to make a deal but he hid away so that the demon wouldn't be swayed away. When the demon arrived, Lester immediately asked for his wife's death in exchange for his soul. Sam tried to stop Lester from completing the pact but it was too late.

Dean continued. "You would've liked to have gotten there before the deal went down but, really, you didn't care about poor old Lester. Did ya Sam? You just wanted a demon to shake down no matter what."

Sam hit the table angrily. Hearing Dean talk about this was hitting him even harder than Abel did. Abel had shown sadness and disappointment in him but Dean was showing glee and approval. That made him feel even worse. "I never meant-"

"Who cares what you meant!" Dean roared out. "That line that we thought was so clear between us and the things we hunted ain't so clear, is it?" Dean shook his head. "Wow. You might actually be worse than me." Sam just went over to the syringe and refilled it with more of the blood from the bags. "I mean, you took a guy at his lowest. Used him and it cost him his life and his soul. Nice work." Sam then approached him with the syringe ready in his hand. He then injected him again and Dean felt a new wave of pain as the purified blood entered his system. Sam then walked away and threw the syringe angrily to the floor. That got Dean to smirk towards him. "Let me ask you this Sammy? If this little plan of your doesn't work, we both know what you got to do to me, right?" Sam kept his back turned on him. "This spell that's on me will wear off soon and this little rat cage ain't going to hold me for long. And you know that the first one I'm going after will be you. You got the stomach for that Sam?!" he roared at him.

Sam let tears fall from his eyes. Dean must think that he would have to kill him, but that wasn't the only option. If this really didn't work, then it looked like he might actually be left with no choice but to actually summon Abel and have Dean banished to some pit in Hell, forever. It was either that or kill him and just end this for good. Sam didn't know which option was worse.

* * *

 **End of Chapter 5**

A/N: I've wanted to throw in the meeting with Abel and Sam for the longest time. It seemed appropriate seeing as we had Cain and Dean so why couldn't we have had Abel and Sam. And there's a new demon on the rise. One that started to make blood flow the minute he was back. This should be good.

The next chapter will have Sam racing to get Dean back but he runs into complication when Dean's full strength returns after Lucas' spell fully wears off.


	6. Soul Survivor part 2

Chapter 6: Soul Survivor part 2

Castiel was driving through one of the county roads, his face much more calmer than it had been in a long time. The grace he had procured from Anita was keeping him whole. However, he knew that it would only be a matter of time before he started to deteriorate again. He had to find a more permanent solution. But that could wait. There was a more immediate concern that needed his attention right now. As if it waiting for it, his phone rang as soon as he finished that thought.

"Sam," he said picking up the phone.

"Cas, where are you?" Sam asked as he was just outside the dungeon where Dean was still sitting in that chair.

"I'm only a few hours away," Castiel told him. "Is your variation of the treatment working?"

"I'm not sure. If it is then not very well."

Castiel's eyes narrowed in concern. "What do you mean?"

"I don't know. This…it's not happening like it did with Crowley. He got quiet and then went into tears. Dean…he's in pain. Bad pain and it feels like he's barely holding on." Sam took a moment to swallow nervously. "Cas…It might be killing him."

"It might be," Castiel said back.

Sam tightened his hold on his phone. "So, should I stop?"

"And do what?" the angel scolded out at him. "He's not possessed. An exorcism is out of the question. The ritual of purified blood is the only treatment I know."

"Cas!" Sam barked. "Did you not hear me? I could be killing my brother!"

"Sam!" It was Castiel's turn to yell. "That thing is not your brother. Not right now. You have to be prepared to-"

"I could be killing Dean," Sam cut in.

Castiel shut his eyes as he tried to block out the flood of bad and painful feelings rushing at him. "To do what you feel needs to done," he let himself finish. "No matter what, we can't leave Dean like this. If you stop now then he will break free and start killing again. Starting with you."

Sam backed up until his back met with the wall as he looked down at his feet. "Yeah, I know," he said dejectedly. He took a look at his brother in the chair again and saw that his head was bobbing lazily from the right to the left and back again. Sam's jaw tightened and he went to turn his back to him. "Uh…Cas, what if there is something else?" he muttered into the phone.

"What do you mean?"

Sam then cleared his throat. "Uh, what if there was a way to stop Dean…without risking the chance that we might kill him."

Castiel had known the brothers long enough to recognize that when either Dean or Sam took this tone of voice that something was about to happen. "Sam? Where are you going with this?"

Sam let out a small sigh. "Abel paid me a visit."

Castiel's eyes widened. "Abel? What happened?"

"Nothing. Nothing happened. He just wanted to talk…if you could call it that," he added out breathlessly. "He…he told me that he knew what I was trying to do and that it wouldn't work."

"That remains to be seen," Castiel immediately opposed. "You shouldn't listen to Abel Sam."

"Yeah, believe me Cas, I didn't want to listen any more than you would. But…some of the things he told me, they made sense. He wasn't trying to force me into anything. It was like, he was trying to beg me to listen. To understand."

"Understand what Sam?"

Sam's eyes lowered a bit. "He wants me to give him Dean so that he could seal him away. Like he did with Cain."

Castiel didn't speak immediately. He was silent for a few moments before he finally uttered out. "I see."

But those words sent Sam for a loop. "That's it? That's all you're going to say?"

"What more could I say? It is a solution that would work, I can't argue that Sam, even if it did come from Abel."

"Well, I can. We can't call it quits and just dump my brother in some pit in Hell for all eternity."

"Then why did you bring it up?" Castiel asked pointedly. "If you don't want to do that Sam then you don't have to. If you want to save Dean, then save him. Just keep administering the cure." Castiel then loosened himself a bit. "I'll be there as soon as I can."

"Yeah," Sam sighed out. "Right, I'll leave the entrance unlocked for you. Just…hurry." He then hung up the phone. He didn't know why he was bringing up Abel's suggestion. Maybe he needed it said so that he could get Cas to argue with him about it. Instead, it turned out to be him that argued against it. Maybe he needed it said out loud to begin to really back his attempts to cure Dean. Sam then took another look at Dean to see that now he wasn't moving a muscle at all. He went over and gave Dean a small slap. "Hey," he said taking his brother's jaw. "Hey. Hey, Dean!" he barked at him. He then started to shake him furiously. "Come back to me." He then saw that Dean was starting to come to. "You okay?"

"Yeah," Dean mumbled before smacking his lips a bit. "If you call drowning in your own sweat while your blood boils okay."

Sam breathed a small relieved sigh. "Sorry, but I can't stop doing this."

"Sure you can. Just stop. There's no point in trying to bring your brother back now."

"Oh, I will bring him back," he said with his tone resolute.

"Really? Hate to break it to you but your guilt ridden bro…has been MIA for quite some time now. But I'm loving the new model. Lean, mean Dean." He then gave him that same sarcastic smile that he's been sporting almost ever since Sam threw him into that chair.

Sam scoffed. "Right," he said before moving to ready another syringe.

Dean didn't let up. "Haven't you noticed that I've been trying to get as far away from you as possible? Your whining. Your complaining. I chose the King of Hell over you." His tone was rough but then he calmed down a bit. "Maybe…I was just tired of babysitting you. Of always having to yank your lame ass out of the fire since…forever." That made Sam turn to give him a mild glare. "Maybe, it's because my mother would still be alive if it wasn't for you?" He said making Sam still in silent and bitter rage. "That your very existence sucked the life out of my life."

Sam pushed the raging heat pressing on his head as he faced Dean with a savage smile himself. "This isn't my brother talking."

"You never had a brother! That's just an excuse for not manning up. Well, guess what…I quit."

Sam's face fell as he shook his head. "No. No you don't. You don't get to quit. _We_ don't get to quit in this family. This family is all we ever had!" Sam roared out.

"Then we got nothing," Dean said back amusingly.

"You'd say that to dad?"

"Dad? Oh, there's a prize. There was a man that brainwashed us, into wasting our lives, fighting his losing battle." Sam then went for the syringe. Dean's eyebrows rose. "Oh? Is this you manning up?"

"This, is me, yanking your lame ass out of the fire," he said throwing his own words back at him. Sam then shoved the syringe into his arm and pumped him with more blood. "You're welcome." Sam then left the room without skipping a beat.

Dean was grunting in his chair from that last injection. He was huffing and panting until he suddenly felt a…power surge. He looked down to see what looked like shackles made of red light appear around his arms and torso for a moment before they shattered. Dean then felt stronger than he had felt in days. That witch/druid of Crowley's spell must've finally worn off.

* * *

A dark colored Toyota pulled into a suburban block that had squad cars and an ambulance parked in front of a house with their siren lights flashing wildly. The sun had set a while ago and really brought out their lights to draw maximum attention. Out of the car stepped a young man in a suit, his face a little hard. He reached the police barricade and took out his badge to them. After seeing it, they let him through. He made his way to the backyard where there was a body in a tarp with two coroners and an officer over it.

He went over to them and flashed his badge to them. "Victor Morales, FBI," he said before he put it back in his pocket. "What happened?"

The officer shook his head. "Looks like a marriage squabble gone horribly wrong."

Victor nodded. "I'll say." He stared at one of the tarps that was slightly stained red. He also noticed an umbrella nearby with blood that was being photographed by forensics. "So, what happened here?"

The officer shook his head. "Craziness, that's what happened. From what we gather, these two were the basic couple. Fine on the outside for all intended purposes but behind closed doors, your fair share of the usual married grief, you know."

But Victor shook his head. "Actually, I don't."

"Oh, well lucky you. "Anyway," He then pointed to the house across the yard. "Neighbor was watching television when she heard some mild shouting coming from inside the house a bit before this happened, apparently nothing new so she raised the volume. But then her tv started acting up and turned off and that's when she heard the fighting was taken outside and sounded more uglier than usual and so she looked out the window. She said that they were trying to tear each other's eyes out until our suburban housewife went to take that umbrella and jam it into her husband's chest. Repeatedly."

The agent's eyes went back to the bloodied pointy end of the umbrella. "Any idea what set her off?"

"No. The people around the block say that there is some shouting though not so much as a shattered cup heard leak out of that house."

Victor narrowed his eyes as he looked back at the two bodies. He pointed to the other body. "What happened to the wife then?"

"Turns out that our next door neighbor wasn't the only witness. She said that there was a man who had a front row seat to it all. After The Killer Housewife was done, he went over and grabbed her and just snapped her neck. He then just took off."

"Neighbor get a good look at him?"

The officer shook his head. "Sadly no."

Victor moved off and his eyes scrunched up. His nostrils flared as a bitter smell made its way into his nose. He moved to find that the smell seemed to be coming from some small hole at the corner of the yard. It was being taped off by two officers. "What happened here?" he asked them.

One of them shrugged. "Best guess, looks like a sewage line backed up and blew."

Victor took another whiff and realized that it wasn't sewage he was smelling but sulfur. An intense concentration of sulfur. His right hand went subconsciously to rub at his opposite wrist where there was a leather cuff peeking through the cuff of his button shirt. He knew what sulfur meant but this seemed to be stronger than what he had heard about. He walked off a bit before he stopped, bent his head down a bit and closed his eyes. He opened them and let out a small breath and wondered if that would avail to anything.

"I'm sorry sir, but you can't be back here!" somebody suddenly said.

"Stop right there," said another.

Victor looked off to see that some officers were trying to stand in the way of a man that was dressed in casual clothes and with a long dark overcoat. He seemed to be trying to walk through these men to head into the center of the backyard.

He caught Victor's eyes. "Agent Morales," the man called out.

"It's okay!" Victor shouted out. "He's, a specialist. He's with me. Let him through." The officers moved aside and the newcomer slowly made his way over to Victor. He was looking at him with a solemn look. Victor gazed at him with a hard weight in his stomach as this man, no angel, stared at him. This wasn't the first time he'd seen an angel but this was the first time that one of them was speaking directly to him face to face. "Hello, sir," he added quickly.

"Agent Morales," he said at him. "My name is Stephen. I was sent here by the Powers in response to your prayer."

"Oh," he breathed. Victor knew that their prayers really were heard though he was still half shocked that it was actually answered. "Thank you for coming."

"Your prayer said that this was a strange demonic incident. If you called over a wild goose chase…you might not be so thankful."

"It is, believe me. My friend…Logan," Victor's eyes fell a bit before he narrowed his eyes and straightened up. "He stressed how serious that prayers to the Powers were. That they weren't something to mess around with."

Stephen loosened his poise. "Logan Donovan…he was your friend." Victor nodded. "I'm sorry for your loss."

"Thank you," he said before clearing his throat. "Let me show you why I…called." He then led the angel off towards the direction for the hole. "There was a pair of murders here. It looks like a demon might've been involved but this didn't look like a typical demonic attack."

They then stopped in front of the hole and Stephen went and bent down on one knee as he surveyed the hole. He moved a hand over the air above it and his eyes went into a full blown glare.

"You said that this was unusual for a demonic attack?" Stephen looked at him. "How exactly?"

Victor went and put his hands into his pockets. "From what a witness said this couple had been arguing before the demon showed up but after it did, their fighting went from shouting to slaughter. The wife ended up killing her husband bloody before the demon went and killed the wife."

"I see," Stephen mumbled. "Thank you Agent Morales."

Stephen started to leave but Victor moved for him.

"Wait, what's going on?" he called out to him.

Stephen froze in his tracks. "I can't say for sure yet. I have to make a report to The Powers." He then turned to look back at the human. "In the meantime, continue with your investigation. Contact us if you discover anything else unusual."

Victor blinked and Stephen was suddenly gone. He was soon joined by the officer he had been talking with earlier.

"Hey, where did that guy go? A second ago, I swore he was here talking with you."

Victor narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean? He left. Didn't you see him go?"

The officer blinked as he looked around a bit before he shook his head. "I guess I missed that."

"Maybe you're just working too hard," Victor said playfully before he started to head out back to his car. As for him, his work was just starting.

* * *

Sam went to leave the Bunker entrance open for Castiel and then went to get himself a drink. He emptied the bottle as he just wandered the length of the Bunker until he found himself outside of Dean's room. He'd hardly gone in there since the day Dean disappeared but he found himself walking right on in. It was exactly how Dean had left it. On the nearby couch were some of Dean's old porn magazines. The coffee table next to it had a near empty container of pie that Dean hadn't finished. Sam went to clean it up and saw that there were some papers nearby over some family photos. Photos of their mother and father, as well as some of them and Bobby. And photos of just the two of them. He took a moment to get lost in the pictures before he put them down and headed out for the dungeon. There was only one more injection left to administer and this would all be over. Sam just hoped that the result was the one he wanted and not the one he feared.

He made his way back to the room, but his eyes widened and his jaw dropped in shock. The chair where Dean had laid was empty. The ropes were snapped and there was no sign of his brother in the room at all. Sam exited the area quickly and began a silent trek through the Bunker. He knew that Dean would just leave. No. Dean would want to make sure that he was out of commission so that he wouldn't be caught again. Sam had the knife out but was hoping that he wouldn't have to use it.

Dean was walking the length of the Bunker, looking in room after room for Sam quite calmly. It was quiet. Too quiet. He had to assume that Sam now had seen that he had freed himself and knew that he was hunting for him. He headed for the kitchen and was about to pick up a knife when he set it back down and opted for a hammer instead. He moved it around in his hand and gave a smile as he visualized beating Sam's skull in with it.

"C'mon Sammy!" he called out. "You want to hang out with your big brother? A little quality time!" But there was nothing in response.

Dean kept on with the hunt. He reached a corridor with three different direction that he could turn and Dean decided to turn back when he saw exactly where he was. He kicked the door down to his old room, thinking that Sam probably thought it was the last place he'd look but found that he wasn't there.

Sam was in fact in the Bunker's electrical room. He got to the fuse box and cut off the power to the Bunker bathing everything in darkness except for the emergency lights.

That actually Dean smile. "Smart Sam!' he called out. "Locking the place down. The doors won't open. I'm trapped in here. I get it, but here's the thing. I don't want to leave! Not till I find you!" He made his way to the Bunker's study, the hammer ready and waiting in his hand. "Sammy! You're only making this worse on yourself. It's your own fault you know. You put too much faith in the King Crowley's prized Harry Potter. It was only a matter of time before his mojo ran out of juice. I'm back, strong as before. Only now I'm pissed off." He went to one of the drawers in the command center and found that some keys were missing. He then headed off for the electric room and saw that the door was opened. He got in and went to the fuse box. He didn't see that Sam was watching his every move. But Dean just went to the box and turned all the power back on. "That's more like it."

As soon as Dean turned the lights on, Sam quickly ran out and closed the door. He then used the keys to lock the door. Dean let out a small laugh as he was less than impressed with Sam's strategy.

"Listen to me Dean," Sam called out through the door. "We're getting close. I know that you're still in there somewhere. Let me finish the treatments."

It was quiet for a moment. Sam let himself breathe a little easier until a piece of the door broke off. Sam stepped back in horror to see that Dean was breaking the door in with a hammer.

"You're acting like I want to be cured," he said as he hammered away at the door. He kept going until he broke open a hole so that he could see Sam and that Sam could see him. "Personally, I like the disease." He then resumed in breaking the door down.

"Dean! Stop that!" Sam spat out as he held the knife out. "I don't want to have to use this blade on you!" he warned.

Dean just smirked at him. "Oh, that sucks for you, doesn't it? Because you really mean that." He laughed a bit before he kept hammering at the door.

Sam backed up a bit as a big piece of the door shot for him. "Look, come out of that room, I won't have a choice!"

"Sure you will!" Dean roared at him. "And I know which one you'll make. Right Sammy? But see, here's the thing, I'm lucky. Hell, I'm blessed! Because there's enough demon in me to make it no choice at all." He then finished in breaking the door in as Sam ran off. Dean then stepped out and brushed some wood chips and dust off him before he calmly walked on after him in pursuit. "Sammy?" he called out.

Dean started to roam the halls again with a smile on his face. He was enjoying being on the hunt for Sam. For him, this was the most fun he'd had in a while.

"Sammy," he said. "C'mon, let's have a beer. Talk about it."

But Sam just kept moving through the halls. He heard his brother's voice not too far off but Sam tried to keep as quiet as possible. But, it then got quiet again. Sam reached a junction and turned to look down the hall to find it empty. He was about to head in when he suddenly ducked as he just noticed a hammer flying for his head. It got stuck in the wall and Sam immediately straightened up and had the knife right to his brother's throat.

"Stop!" he breathed out.

But Dean just smiled and let the hammer go. "Well, look at you." Dean looked straight into Sam's eyes. "Do it. It's all you."

Sam just looked at his brother and he then found his hand starting to fall and drop taking the knife away. Dean then let his black eyes show again. He was about to pounce but was then grabbed from behind, by Castiel. Dean tried to break free but the angel's strength kept him tightly bound.

"It's over," Castiel said to him. He then let his eyes burn blue as he used his revitalized strength to keep Dean bound. "It's over Dean."

Dean roared out in frustration as he was kept in the angel's grip. Sam just looked back at his brother sadly.

They brought him back to the dungeon and Sam went and gave him the last injection tirelessly.

"What are we doing Cas?" Sam said as he backed away to look at Dean completely passed out. "Even when I gave him all that blood, there wasn't even the slightest change to him at all. He still kept saying that he didn't want to be cured. He didn't want to be human."

Castiel kept his eyes locked on Dean. "Well, see his point. Only humans can feel real joy but…also such profound pain. For him, being a demon, it's much easier."

Sam, for a moment, felt no hope. No hope for Dean at all. He had to wonder…was he being punished? Was this some kind of karmic retribution for everything he'd done, both recently and in the far past? Could he not save Dean? Had Abel been right all along?

But then Dean started to stir from his chair as he started to come to. Sam uncorked the flask of holy water as Dean moved to look over at him. His eyes were pitch black. But then, the black started to fade out slowly until his eyes were normal again. He gasped and started to breathe a little harder as his expression turned into one of confusion and sadness. He was gently eyeing the two of them.

"You look worried fellas," he said to them.

But Sam and Castiel kept their poise. Sam took the flask and threw holy water on Dean. The water hit him, but it didn't have any effect on him at all. Sam's eyes widened as he looked back at Castiel. The angel let out a tired sigh before he looked back at Sam and nodded. A small smile found its way on his face and Sam settled. It was true. Dean was human again.

Sam let a small smile out as he looked back at his brother. "Welcome back Dean."

Dean just looked at them both with a soft, but troubled gaze.

* * *

There was a crowd of people watching as police officers were gripping a savagely angry man by his arms and legs as he tried to forcefully break free from their grip. He was shouting and roaring like a wild animal. His eyes blazed as he looked down at a lump lying on the street. There was a man, bleeding heavily, there and was hardly moving as he was being tended to by another officer. In the crowd, one of the people had their eyes locked the man struggling against the police.

"Boy, was he holding a lot in. And I was happy to take it." He then closed his eyes and took a deep soothing breath. He opened his eyes to reveal that they had gone bright blue. He then scanned the crowd "And he's not the only one." His eyes went back to normal. "I think I'm going to love it up here."

* * *

Sam was making his way back the Impala from where he parked it in the parking lot. After checking Dean to make sure he was okay, Sam headed into town for a fast food run as Dean had said that he was hungry. Sam probably overdid it by getting multiple orders of burgers and pie but he didn't care. He was too happy to.

"Sure you have enough there?"

Sam turned around and saw that Abel was standing just a little bit aways. His smile dropped at the sight of him. "Abel, what do you want?"

"Checking on your progress," he said as he stared back at Sam blankly.

"Well, I already have someone for that, thanks," he said shortly to the angel.

He was about to keep heading for the car but Abel stopped him.

"You really think that you could still save Dean Sam? You're deluding yourself."

Sam smirked to himself and then turned around to face him. "Really? Well, hate to burst your ego bubble but I already did save Dean."

But Abel's expression didn't change at all. "If you're referring to the cure, yes, I already knew that. I sensed the shift of energy. I know that you made Dean human again…but do you really believe that the danger is passed? You didn't prevent Dean's fate but merely postponed it." Abel shook his head disapprovingly. "This is always yours and Dean's problem. You always get so focused on a single objective that you never see the overall result.

Sam's face fell. "What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking of the Mark Sam. It's still on Dean and it still keeps its hold and influence. Overall, all you did was bring you and Dean right back to where you started when he first took the mark. Soon, it will quietly make its way back into his mind, filling him with rage and an urge to kill. Then Dean will be right back on the path to shedding blood and causing mayhem as before."

"I won't let that happen," Sam said at him.

Abel narrowed his eyes. "You won't have a choice. Well, actually you did, but you chose to make it harder on yourself and put even more lives at risk to fall victim to your brother."

"If that starts to happen, then I'll stop it again."

"Oh? And how are you going to do that Sam? You're just going to watch Dean's every move from now until the end of time? Good luck with that." Sam's face then lit up in confusion. "You didn't know?" he said mockingly as if Sam were a small child. "The Mark of Cain is an eternal brand on his very soul. As a human, the Mark will keep Dean alive to sate its dark needs. He won't age or falter for too long. And, should he die, Dean will become a demon again…but it will be even worse."

"If that happens, I will just cure him again. It works."

"Yes, it does. Once. The cure can only be administered on a soul once." Sam felt his spine run cold at that bit of news. Abel was able to sense it and he then full on glared at him. "Sam…perhaps you should actually try listening to when others are trying to explain these things to you instead of only hearing the parts that you want to hear. You believe you solved the problem, but in reality you've only applied tape on it. And tape, while it fixes up a break, eventually its glue fades and everything falls apart again. You have only delayed the inevitable."

It was Sam's turn to glare. "And how do I know that you're not just giving me nothing but more of the same old angelic destiny crap Abel?"

"If that's what you want to believe Sam, then that's your choice. But, I wonder if you will still have that same certainty and bravado when you see your brother knee deep in blood and corpses." He then raised his finger to point at him. "I certainly did not when it happened to me. Just remember that I tried to help you Sam. But you wanted to make it harder on both yourself and your brother. It's all going to be on you now. Remember that."

Sam blinked at that and saw that Abel was now gone.

* * *

Castiel was looking through books on demons that were spread out on the table as Sam made his way over to him.

"Hey," Sam muttered to him.

"How's he doing?" Castiel said.

"Well…he's still a little out of it. But better," he added quickly. "I gave him some food and he took to it well enough so his appetite is normal. That's a good sign. I mean, with everything, the blood cure-"

Castiel nodded. "I know." But he then cleared his throat. "Sam, I know that you are happy to have Dean back. So am I. But, you must realize that one problem has been solved but a grander one remains. The Mark." He then started to walk up to him. "Dean is no longer a demon but he still bears the Mark of Cain. Sooner or later, that will become an issue."

Sam let out a frustrated breath. "Cas, you know what, I'm beat. One battle at a time. Can't we just take some time and celebrate. I just want to scarf down some food and then get drunk."

He smiled at Castiel before he then turned around to head to Dean's room. When his back was to Cas, he let the smile drop. For Abel to say something about the Mark was one thing, but for Cas to back him up without him even mentioning it…maybe Abel wasn't pulling his leg after all. Maybe there was reason to worry, but not right now. Right now, he had his brother back and he wanted to savor the time as long as he had it.

* * *

Dean was in his room, looking over the family photos that he kept. He heard knocking at the door and he put the photos away.

"Yeah?" he called out.

It was Castiel. "You look terrible," he said as soon as he stepped in.

Dean snorted. "You know, it wouldn't kill ya to lie every now and then."

Castiel tilted his head a bit. "No, it wouldn't kill me it would just-"

Dean cut in. "Forget it." Seems there was still some elements of sarcasm that escaped the angel after all this time. Dean then made his way out of the bed. "Well, you on the other hand, you're looking good. So…you're back?"

"At least temporarily. It's a long story. A campfire in the woods, stolen grace from a renegade, an angel friend of mine involved, taking her body away to Michael." That made Dean look a little lost though it didn't stop him from having pictures come in his head as he let his imagination wander a bit from all that. A fact that Castiel seemed to notice. "Another time."

Dean shrugged. "Well, thank you. For…stepping in when you did." Castiel nodded. "So, what did Sam say when I wasn't looking. He want a divorce?"

Dean then started to walk off as he prepared to hear the worst.

"I'm…sure Sam knows that whatever you said, what you did…it wasn't really you. Certainly wasn't all you."

Dean froze in place. "I tried to kill him Cas."

"Dean, you two have been through so much. Look, your brothers. It would take a lot more than trying to kill Sam with a hammer to make him want to walk away."

Dean sighed. "You realize how screwed up our lives are that that would even make sense?" he said tirelessly. That made Castiel smile a bit. It was contagious as even Dean let a small smile out. "I'm glad you're here man."

Castiel started to head out but he stopped and turned back to him. "Hey, maybe you should take some time. Before you get back to work. Allow yourself to heal." Dean just stared at him. "It's uh…I don't know. The timing might be right. Heaven and Hell…they seem to be getting back in order with Michael back in charge and Crowley returning to his throne. They seem to be working to get things running back to how they like it before making any significant moves. Samael is still loose but he seems to be biding his time now that Michael has returned. It's quiet right now. More or less."

He then left the room so that Dean could be left in peace.

As for Dean, he thought that maybe taking it easy might not be such a bad idea after all. With everything that's happened lately, the angels and demons would probably be taking their time to reanalyze the things going on and how to deal with them.

As long as there weren't any surprises.

* * *

In a spacey and extravagant hotel room, there was a spot of red on the floor that was made from a blood slowly dripping from a body that was hanging on the ceiling as if it was nailed there. Watching it was a woman with long curly red hair and had a calm expression on her face.

* * *

 **End of Chapter 6**

A/N: I'm sorry for the big delay but I was sidetracked by one of my other stories that seems to have made a big splash, but don't worry. I hadn't forgotten about this one. If you haven't, you should check out the updates that had been made in many pages related to these series on the Supernatural Fanon Wiki site.

Well, Dean's cured and is human again but it seems as if the danger has not yet passed. If anything, from Abel's grim warning, this was all just a precursor for what's to come. Looks like now that Malphas is free, he is wasting no time and starting to steadily build up his strength. But who knows what he's going to do when he's fully charged up? And Rowena is beginning to make her grand entrance.


	7. Girls, Girls, Girls

Chapter 7: Girls, Girls, Girls

A scantily dressed blond woman was running through the run down part of town as fast as she could. Her heels making loud thumps against the pavement with every step she took. She reached an alley and took a breath but then noticed a shadow of a man being projected on a building across the street, and it was steadily moving in her direction. She then ran into the alley but stepped into a small crack and broke her heel, as well as hurt her ankle. But, even with her sore foot, she picked herself up and kept on running. At least until she ran into the very man she was running from.

"Raul," she breathed out in shock.

The man was calmly looking her over. "You better think fast Diana, because this…looks bad."

"I'm so…I'll do anything," she said pleadingly. "I'll come back. I'll make it up to you. Please…don't hurt me."

But her pleads and begging only made him smirk at her. He walked over and lightly moved some stray hairs from her face. "Now…what kind of a message would that send the other girls, huh?"

The girl, Diana, started to covertly ready her broken heel and then jammed it straight into the guy's eye. He gave a shout as she stabbed it right into his eye. She moved to get away but he quickly reached and gripped her shoulder. She looked back as he straightened himself up and looked back at her with a hole now where his eye used to be as his other eye went pitch black.

"No," she gasped.

"Oh Diana, I would say that I'm sorry to lose you but," He then reached over and gripped both of her cheeks. "There's plenty more where you came from," he added happily before he went and snapped her neck.

* * *

 **Supernatural**

* * *

Dean sitting at a table in a bar as he chowed down on some seasoned steak. Sam was across from him looking at the paper. It had been over two weeks since Dean had been cured and he was looking for a change of scenery. Sam thought that they should be still be taking it easy but Dean didn't want to just 'take it easy'. Sam agreed to a change of scenery but that didn't mean that they should concentrate on work. He wanted to take time and get themselves to ease back into all of it. He wanted to see if they could find a way for Dean to better hold back the influence of the Mark than he had the last time. Abel's warnings had caused him some restless nights where he was sullen after having nightmares of Dean returning to be a demon and leaving bodies in his wake. Bodies that stared back at him with their lightless but accusing eyes. Abel said that it would only get worse and things with Dean and the Mark had been catastrophic. He didn't want to imagine what worse was.

Sam, right now, was just staring at a spot on the table as he lamented his thoughts so he barely heard his name.

"Hmm," Sam said taking a breath and snapping out of it. "What?"

Dean was lifting his fork and pointing at Sam's plate that had a steak on it as well. "You're not eating. C'mon that is a Grade B Special Porterhouse. From the southwest to Connecticut, you tell me where else would you find a decent steak under ten bucks?"

Sam shook his head. "Oh, yeah. Right," he said as he started cutting up a piece and then went to eat it.

Dean's phone was beeping and going off but Dean ignored it and gave him a look. "You okay Sam?"

"Yeah, of course," he brushed off. But then Sam eyed him. "Are you?"

Dean huffed. "I'm fine Sam. Just like I was when you asked that an hour ago. And the hour before that. You can relax. I'm good now."

Sam leaned back in his chair. "I know…it's just still a little unbelievable to process sometimes. Maybe we should still have stayed back at the bunker a bit more, given-"

Sam didn't say anything more on that but Dean didn't need him to. He knew that being a demon and trying to kill him had shaken Sam up a bit. Hell, it still shook Dean up.

"Yeah," Dean muttered. "But I'm okay now, really. And I don't feel like staying cooped up in the bunker. You didn't?"

Sam narrowed his eyes. "What are you talking about?"

Dean eyed him. "You know, the demon blood, did you just want to be cooped up somewhere when you got cleaned out? No, you didn't."

Sam let out a deep breath. "This isn't the same thing Dean. I…was off the deep end, yeah, but it was still me. Okay, and you…weren't you. It was something that thought like you, fought like you, and talked like you…but it wasn't you."

Now it was Dean that was letting out a deep breath. "Well, you don't have to worry, because I'm back. I'm not saying that we should just jump right back into everything like nothing's changed, but I don't want to be somewhere and try to pretend like none of it happened."

Sam nodded. "Okay," he said after a moment.

"Okay," Dean said in a tone that made it clear that this was now settled. "Now eat your steak. Or I will," he said before returning to his own.

Sam narrowed his eyes when Dean's phone beeped again to let him know that he got a message. Many times and Sam could see a string of messages being shown on his phone's screen. "Dude, you are blowing up. Who is that?"

Dean took his phone and scrolled down and just shrugged. "It's just…alert things."

"For what?"

"For, you know, monster stuff," he said as he silenced his phone and then set it down so that the screen was facing the table. Sam nodded before he went and made a grab for it as Dean went to take another bite of his steak. "No, uh uh, give it back," Dean said quickly holding his hand at him.

"What?" Sam said as he held it back. "What, why?"

"Because privacy," Dean said with narrowed eyes. "And stuff."

"Oh, privacy?" Sam then went and checked his phone and moved to the most recent alert. A profile page of Dean's suddenly popped up and Sam's eyes nearly popped out in surprise. "You're on a dating app?"

Dean started to feel a small shred of embarrassment before he shook his head to wave it off. "You know what, don't knock it until you try it."

But Sam was not done with poking fun at him. "Nice screen name Dean," he said with a big smile on his face for the first time in a while that it almost hurt. "Impala67," he mocked.

Now Dean had enough. "Alright, give it back. Come on." Dean said as he moved to swipe it away.

Sam put it further out of his reach. "Shaylene huh?" He scrolled down the messages. "Dean…there are like a million messages here."

Dean finally smiled. "Yeah…check out her pic."

Sam clicked it and his head thrust back. The girl in the picture was gorgeous. "Wow, she's hot," he said impressed. He did hold up a halting finger. "But."

"But what?" Dean mumbled.

"She seems…uh, kind of available. Like too available." He then looked to read out her latest message to him. "Oh baby. Whatever you want. I'm burning up just thinking about you," he recited mockingly. "Says, she on her way here…and other stuff."

But Dean just laughed. "They get raunchier?"

"Dean, it's like a Penthouse letter. You're not serious about this, right?"

Dean rolled his eyes amusingly at him. "Uh…yeah. Why, what's wrong?"

"Nothing," Sam said quickly. "But…it's kind of a little too good to be true. Don't you think?"

Now Dean was feeling defensive. "I'm sorry…is it so hard that an attractive woman, a red-blooded American female could be interested in someone like me?"

Sam tried not to flinch at how Dean happily said blood. "You do realize that there is no guarantee that "Shaylene"," he emphasized with making air quotes with his fingers. "is really Shaylene, right? I mean…for all you know it could be some Canadian trucker," but he froze. "named Bruce."

Dean noticed the weirded out look on his brother's face and turned around. Sure enough, 'Shaylene' was standing there, every bit as hot as her profile pic, with a smile she was shooting right at Dean. Dean smiled back and sent her a flirty one finger wave which she responded with a sexy wave back.

Dean smiled over at Sam. "That look like a Bruce to you?"

* * *

Castiel was off in his motel room as there was a wall decorated with file copies and various pictures of people, one that included Daniel Leonard as well as a newspaper clipping that had the faces of Lisa and Ben Braeden with a headline reading: **Mother and Son Vanish From Their Home**. He was standing in front of it, deep in thought, when there was a knock on the door. He took hold of his blade as he went to the door and slowly opened it a tab to see who it was.

"Hello Castiel," Hannah said calmly even though there was a blade ready in his hand.

Castiel settled a bit. He then opened the door fully. "Hannah. You came."

"Of course." She then walked on in. "I'm sorry that I took so long. Me and my faction have been under hard watch lately. I was just able to get away on a routine patrol but they'll expect me back soon."

"Don't worry, I understand. I know that what I'm asking isn't easy."

Hannah tilted her head a bit as she looked him up and down. "How are you doing?"

"I'm okay," he said lightly. "Anita's grace was stronger than the last angel's I had to use. I haven't felt any ill effects as of yet."

"But, it'll only be a matter of time," Hannah pointed out.

Castiel walked off. "I know," he said looking over at the curtained window. "If I'm going to get my full strength back then I'll need to get my own grace back. And only Metatron knows where it is."

"And Metatron has been locked away in Heaven. He's been officially classed as a renegade." Hannah then eyed him uncomfortably. "And so have you."

"I suppose I really am now," Castiel said in a low voice. He then shook his head. "But enough about that. Tell me, how much have you learned?"

"Some," she said downhearted. "It hasn't been easy to navigate through the system now that Michael has taken control."

"Where is he commanding everyone from? Heaven?"

"No, he's been staying on Earth. He has Raguel from The Powers looking over Heaven. He's been staying at a keep over in Florida."

"The Paradise Pavilion," Castiel supplied.

"Yes, but only a select number of angels are allowed to be there so I can't tell you who or what is going on there. Though I've heard that Gadreel is there and that he has been made The Heavenly Saint's appointed guard."

Now that surprised Castiel. "Michael is allowing this?"

"Allowing it? Castiel, it was his idea," Hannah breathed which made Castiel's face fall slightly. "He has officially pardoned Gadreel and then granted him that position. Believe me, we were all surprised."

Castiel couldn't believe that Michael would actually give a high standing position to a renegade, even a former one. "What about Samael? Have you learned anything about him?"

Hannah shook her head. "I'm sorry Castiel. The only thing I've heard about Samael and his force was that Jedediah managed to find and kill Tyrus and a few of his men. Nothing about Marilyn or Barbatos."

Castiel nodded, letting her know that he understood. It was likely that Samael was well hidden from prying eyes. The rogue archangel wasn't a fool. He just hoped that if he could find some clue to Barbatos and Marilyn then he could try to find a way to save their vessels and destroy any future hold that Samael might try to instill in the Winchesters. Especially with Dean. It was thanks to Samael having them that made Dean charge the Pavilion and get killed once before.

"Thank you Hannah." Hannah then went over to lightly grasp his hand in comfort and he returned the grip lightly before he let her go. "You should get back before someone decides to look for you."

Hannah nodded before she made her way for the door. But just before she got to it she stopped short. She gave it a look before turning around. "I know that you want to find Samael and the others because of the Winchesters Castiel. But, I have to say that you shouldn't go after him or the others. Not until you get better first."

He gave her a morose look. "I don't plan to."

* * *

Dean was pushed into the wall of the motel room as Shaylene moved in to capture him in an intense kiss as she helped him to remove his button shirt off. Their lips separated but she stayed close with their foreheads pressed together.

"Forgot something," she panted out.

"What?" Dean asked as he looked over at her half-sober.

She backed up and ran a finger down from his neck to his chest seductively. "Still have to discuss my terms."

Dean tilted his head and smiled. "What? Like rules? Sexy rules?" he asked raising his eyebrows for effect as she came in closer.

But Shaylene's face went a little serious. "More like an issue of payment."

Dean let his back lay flat against the wall as he seemed to understand what she was saying. "Oh?"

"Yeah," she nodded with a small smile. "Sweetie, I thought you figured it out. I mean should I just have come out and said it. I kind of thought I made it obvious," she said with a laughing sort of tone.

But Dean wasn't laughing. He was already imagining Sam's smug face saying: I told you so.

"Yeah, yeah," Dean said before clearing his throat. "It's just, uh…I have this code. No cash for ass."

Shaylene turned to him but didn't seem angry or upset at all. "Well, you're in luck honey. Because I don't want your money." She then walked over so that they were nearly face to face. "A trifle really."

Dean narrowed his eyes. "I'm listening."

"Your soul," she said.

Dean's face fell a bit. "My soul?"

Shaylene shrugged. "It's nothing really. I mean, who knows what a soul is really? If it even exists. All I know is you say yes then my guy comes up, you sign some papers and then it's you and me. Good to go."

But Dean's face went harder at all that. This now was no longer a happy or funny mistake. Dean now was itching to hurt somebody.

Dean pulled away from her and started to walk off. "So…that's it? Just sign over my life?"

"It's a signature baby. What's a little paperwork compared to absolute physical bliss?"

Dean gave her a look. She didn't seem to be a demon herself but seemed to have some understanding of what she was doing.

"You make a strong case," he said playing along a bit more.

"I love my job," she said rubbing up against the wall for him.

Dean nodded. "Do you?" he asked as he moved closer to her with a hard face.

"Yeah?" she said a little half-heartedly.

He could sense the hesitation in her. She was scared, he could see it. "Because it doesn't look like love to me." The look he was giving her was making Shaylene start tense up and not in fun kind of way. "I know my brother will never let me live this down but…how about we talk instead?"

It was a little while longer when Shaylene sent a message from her phone and a guy suddenly came into the room. He saw that Shaylene and Dean were there but Dean was keeping his back facing him.

"Everyone good to go?" the man asked as he came in with a rolled up paper. He started unfolding it and took out a pen. "Well, just put in your John Hancock and we could get this party started." But the guy froze when Dean stood up and faced him. He then saw Sam coming out of the bathroom as well and Dean brought out an angel blade. "Winchesters," he said tensely and tried to back up but found he couldn't. He then looked up and noticed the Devil's Trap painted on the roof keeping him trapped.

"She told us everything," Dean said as he viewed the demon with disgust.

Disgust that Sam shared as he glared at the demon. "Abduction, forced prostitution. Pretty gnarly, even for a demon."

The demon shrugged. "She's got her version. I've got mine."

"Liar!" Shaylene spat out.

"Oh? Let me guess, she came to you begging for you to pimp her out," Dean said.

"Yeah," the demon chimed in. "Because that Harvard degree was working out so well for her."

"How many girls are there?" Dean demanded. "How big is this?"

"Just me and Shay," he said.

"He's lying," Shaylene quickly said to them. "There's a brothel. I heard him on the phone." She then eyed him. "They told me what you are. A demon from Hell!"

"Beats being trash from the street," he said not skipping a beat and making her taken aback. "Face it missy, without me you would've been dead of drugs or worse in a year." He then looked over at the Winchesters. "She should be thanking me. Frankly, this little ho"

But he never got to finish. At that insult, Shaylene went and grabbed Dean's blade and jammed it into him killing him.

"Yeah," Dean said as he went to grab the blade from her. "That just happened."

"Great," Sam huffed out. "He was our best chance at finding out where the brothel was. Do you have any idea where it is?" he asked Shaylene.

"No," she said as she still eyed the dead demon. "But-" She then stepped over and started to search him. She pulled out a card from his coat pocket. "I saw him give these out at the bars."

It was a business card for a place called Raul's Girls. It wasn't too far.

* * *

Over at the brothel, one of the men there was holding up lingerie as he angrily eyed the girl in the chair.

"What did you say?" he asked glaring at her.

"I said…if you like it so much then why don't you wear it," the girl said calmly but angrily.

Another guy walked in and the first one rounded on him. "She won't wear the clothes you picked. What should I do?"

The guy was the demon that hunted down the escaping girl before and he now had an eyepatch over his destroyed eye. He just regarded the guy with an annoyed look. "Gerald, what do you think?" he asked sarcastically. The first guy eyed the girl savagely as he let his black eyes show. "Don't leave any marks," the demon warned.

But before anything could happen, the door opened again and in walked a woman this time.

"Yo lady," the first guy called out to her. "I think you're in the wrong place."

"Uh, this is Raul's Girls, isn't it?" she asked with her thick Scottish accent shining through. "Clever name by the way."

The one eyed demon turned over to face her better. "Sorry but we're not hiring anybody at the moment. And, no offense, even if we were you're a little…old." She gave him a look but he then smiled. "Unless you're here as a customer," he laughed out.

She gave him a polite smile. "No disrespect to your girls," Her face then fell. "but I'd sooner die than do business of any kind with filth like you," she said with disgust.

She then went and threw something at him and he caught it. He looked down and saw that it was a hex bag.

"You're a-"

But Raul didn't finish as he started to spew out black goo from his mouth.

"Boss?" the second guy said in shock.

The demon kept spitting out goo until he fell to his knees.

"Ladies," the witch said to the girl from before as well as another that came in and were watching everything. "You may want to stand back. This could get messy."

The second demon quickly retreated from his meat suit as the Raul kept spewing out black goo until he finally lay motionless on the ground.

"Hardly the most appetizing process in the world but killing demons always makes me hungry," she said looking back at the girls before heading for the door. But she stopped and looked back at them. "You coming? I mean, you're welcome to stay here." The two girls eyed each other frightfully before they went and followed after her. "Fabulous."

* * *

Sam and Dean made it to the club but found that the door was open so they just strolled in and found the mess of a corpse left on the floor. And they see another one further down.

Dean eyed it all with disappointment. "Great, I'm now more itching to kill this Raul tool. Check ID's," he said to Sam as he headed off for the bar area to grab a drink.

Sam bent down over the corpse and flinched back at the smell. "Uh Dean, from the look and smell of it, pure demon. I think this _is_ Raul."

Dean's face went into disbelief. "What? He puked himself to death?"

"Yeah, literally," Sam said as he went to analyze the black ooze more carefully.

Dean came around from the bar shaking his head. "Okay, so, something went down here. There was a standoff. One demon smokes out and Raul-" He eyed the black mess again. "What could even kill a demon like that? The Battalion?"

Sam narrowed his eyes. "No. They have their cuffs and that super-fast exorcism. Doesn't match their M.O."

"Okay, so what then?"

Sam shook his head in wonder before he noticed something next to Raul's shoe. He pulled it out to reveal a hex bag which he picked up for Dean to see. "Apparently, a witch."

Dean's eyes widened. He'd only just recently had to encounter Crowley's new pet witch and now there was another. But…what kind of witch would do something like this to a demon?

* * *

After leaving the brothel, the three ladies were over at a five star restaurant where they were drinking fine champagne. Or at least one of them was. The two hookers were tense and uncomfortable as they watched their hostess just drink the expensive drink from a crystal glass.

"Uh, mam, why we doing here?" asked the blonde.

She put the glass down. "Please, don't call me mam. Name's Rowena. And what are your names?"

"Elle," said the blonde.

"Caitlin," said the brunette.

Rowena nodded. "And as to why we're doing here, eating of course. I doubt that swine Raul fed you both good and properly."

"Yeah," said Caitlin a little hesitantly. "But, we kind of don't belong here."

This was a pretty exquisite place and with the kind of low cut and run down clothes they were wearing was already drawing in a few looks from people. And soon enough, one of the waiters came over to their table.

"Apologies for the interruption mam," he said over at Rowena.

Rowena closed and opened her eyes at the use of 'mam' for her. "That word again."

"But I'm afraid that our restaurant has a very strict dress code. A certain standard that the two members of your party…fall short of," he tried to say politely but the insult was well heard.

That made the two hookers feel more uncomfortable and they seemed ready to just grab their coats and leave.

"Now can we go?" asked Caitlin.

But Rowena went to her bag. "Stay in your seats," she told them before they could get up. "We're not going anywhere."

The waiter raised his eyes at that. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me," Rowena smiled at him before putting a hex bag in his hand. She chanted a small spell and the waiter's eyes went into a dazed light.

Soon enough, the three of them were then served a fine assortment of first class food and the waiter came back with a large bottle of champagne.

"A Cruge 95. Excellent vintage," he said with a smile as he poured them all the champagne. "With our compliments of course."

"This is awesome," Elle said ecstatic and impressed at everything.

But Caitlin was still a little out of it. "How did you do it?" she asked Rowena.

"Magic," she answered.

"Magic?" Elle asked showing her interest.

Even Caitlin seemed to want to know some more.

"According to the Grand Coven there are three recognized kinds of witch in the world. Most common are the Borrowers. Those that harness the power of a demon to practice the art. Though, owing to your recent experience, I doubt you would have the stomach for that," she said making Elle and Caitlin share a look that made it clear that they agreed with her on that one. Rowena continued. "Secondly, and rarest of all, are the Naturals. Those who are born with the gift."

"You're one of those?" Elle asked.

Rowena turned her head as she played at being bashful. "Well, you are correct."

Caitlin narrowed her eyes. "And what's the third?"

"The Students," Rowena answered. "Those with no natural ability who, with practice and training and a Grand Coven approved mentor to show them the path, can make out a modicum of witchly power."

"Will…you be our mentor?" asked Elle.

Rowena turned her head again. "Well, I'm about as far from Grand Coven approved as there's possible to be," she said a little displeased and despaired. "They threw me out. Many years ago. Disapproved of my methods. Said my magic was too extreme. I was forbidden from using magic. From taking students. From forming a coven." That seemed to make both the girls drop their heads in disappointment. "I've been on the run from those utter fannies ever since."

"So…you can't teach us?" Caitlin said.

But Rowena leaned in closer to her. "Screw the Grand Coven and their stupid rules. You two stick with me and you two can have anything you want. Do anything you want."

Elle smiled at that. "When do we start?"

Rowena looked over at the waiter and saw that he was starting to wobble in place and seemed to be getting sick. She took that as her cue. "Soon but not here," she said getting to her bag. The waiter then started to fidget and drop the dishes he was holding making the whole restaurant turn to look at him. "Whoops, that's our cue," she told the girls.

They all then grabbed their things as the waiter's skin started to turn red as his body started to smoke and burn up grotesquely in front of everyone.

"Did you do that?" Caitlin asked horrified at the sight of him.

Rowena shrugged. "Oh, he'll be fine. Worker's Comp and all that. Are you coming?"

They then left as all the people kept staring at the disturbing corpse.

* * *

Crowley was sitting in his throne as he took in the demon's report. Crowley was less than satisfied with what he was hearing.

"Gerald," he said before getting up. "A bordello? You opened a whorehouse in my name?"

The demon Gerald was facing Crowley in the body of a roadside worker he had found nearby as he nervously faced the King of Hell.

"Well, technically the place was called Raul's Girls," he said with a nervous smile. "But, Raul said-"

"Oh," Crowley said cutting him off. "Raul said."

Gerald swallowed nervously. "Your decree last month. Soul deals are way down after the War with Abaddon. Said that you were looking for proactive and out of the box strategies to get numbers back up."

"So you and your half-wit pal threw me into the sex trade?" he asked clearly unimpressed. "I'm evil, that's just tacky."

A snort drew their eyes to Zepar who was lounging in an armchair close by. "Crowley, from what I've seen so far, tacky's the new black." He then looked over at the lower demon. "I just wish I caught word of this sooner. I would've been a regular customer myself."

Crowley rolled his eyes. Samael had decided to leave the angel with him to be his eyes, ears and voice in all Hell related matters. Crowley felt it insulting that the archangel would appoint him a holy babysitter for conducting his business affairs. Especially one that loved to throw in criticism and unwanted retorts at him now and again.

Gerald drew back Crowley's attention. "We had tried running it passed you. But we were told that you weren't taking meetings. That you were distracted." Gerald then saw that Crowley spared a glance in Zepar's direction as the angel seemed to be serious for a moment as he eyed the king with scolding eyes. Crowley was now glaring a bit at Gerald. "I mean busy," he corrected himself quickly before continuing on with his report. "Look, this witch came and took Raul out like that," he said with a snap of his fingers. "Whole operation kaput. I smoked out."

"Ran away," Crowley corrected him.

"I possessed the nearest meat suit I could find."

"Apparently so," Crowley said taking hold of the orange work vest he had on.

"Because I felt that you should know what happened," Gerald said quickly back to him. "An act of aggression like that…it seemed to be something that you could not stand," he finished.

Crowley rolled his eyes at the meager attempt at flattery which Zepar mirrored.

"Hmm…find this witch," he said. "And bring her back here to me." Gerald's eyes widened in fear. "Is that going to be a problem?" Crowley asked pointedly.

"Uh…no. Of course not."

"Then what are you still doing here?" Crowley asked lowly.

Gerald then moved and headed out of the room.

"Hey Crowley," Zepar said to him as the demon left. "If she's hot then I hope you don't mind letting me have her first." he said with a smug smile. "Let me send her to Heaven before you put her through Hell."

Crowley let out a frustrated huff. The first chance he got-

* * *

Sam and Dean were riding down the highway in the Impala with Dean driving and Sam looking up the symbol on the hex bag as it was different from any other they've encountered before.

"Found it," Sam said as he pulled up a page with the symbol on it. "Okay, so apparently in the 18th Century there were accounts of demons killed by witchcraft. Apparently they were vanquished by a spell called _Defigure Et Tu Cogire_. Which is latin for To Bind and Purge."

Dean's eyes rose a bit. "You think that's the spell that took out Raul?"

"Sounds like it," said Sam. "But, from what I can tell, that spell hasn't been used in over 300 years. And, it was only ever been known by _one_ person. The witch who created it."

"And that is?" asked Dean.

"Rowena," Sam read.

"So, we're looking for a 300 year old witch?"

"Looks like it," Sam mumbled.

"Awesome," Dean mumbled. ' _Because he really_ loved _hunting witches_ ,' he thought sarcastically.

Sam was less than happy as well, but not because of the witch. It's because, now, they were officially on a hunt. He felt that this was the last thing Dean needed. He didn't want Dean to be on a hunt. To risk letting his brother lose himself in a fight and start to fall under the sway of the Mark again. To lose him again...and this time, forever.

* * *

A guy was bound and tied in a chair. He was glaring at his captor.

"I'm not afraid, cause you're a noob," he spat before holy water was thrown into his face and caused him to burn. "I'm your first. That's why you're drawing this out. You're studying me. You're training," But he was cut off with more holy water to the face. "It's going to take a lot more than that to make me talk.

"Oh, you'll talk. You'll talk and you'll tell me everything that you know about your buddy Dean Winchester."

The captor revealed himself as Cole Trenton.

* * *

 **End of Chapter 8**

A/N: Rowena is here. I've always liked her style. I always thought she brought a comical twist to being evil much like Crowley has. Like mother like son I guess. I know that this hunt wasn't supposed to be until much later in canon but I felt that it fit in with the story and helped with the flow that the new characters in their world would bring everything too.

The next chapter will have Sam and Dean track down Rowena as Cole tracks them down. Also, Rowena's activities draw in someone else's attention.


	8. Girls, Girls, Girls part 2

Chapter 9: Girls, Girls, Girls part 2

"At the end of my shift, there's Marty. Falling down and clutching his head. Stroking out right there on the floor. Sweating and turning red like…" He couldn't seem to find the right way to phrase it.

But Dean could. "Like his brains were boiling?" The waiter nodded. "Right…was there anything else unusual?" he asked him.

"More unusual then our head waiter dropping dead in front of me?"

Dean rolled his eyes. "Before that."

The guy shrugged. "I don't know, though I did think getting two hookers in here was pretty damn unusual but that was before Marty keeled over."

"Uh, two hookers?" asked Dean. Hookers in a fancy bistro like this?

"Based on what they were wearing, yeah," the guy nodded.

"Were they alone?"

"No," the guy shook his head again. "Came in with a lady."

"Thank you for your time," Dean said before he went and made his way out. He had a feeling who that woman with the hookers was.

Dean walked over to where Sam was on the phone. He hung up when Dean made it to him.

"Hey," Sam said.

Dean nodded. "Looks like our witch was here with two new friends."

"Really?" Sam asked and Dean nodded. "Raul's girls? What does she want with them?"

Dean shrugged. "I don't know. What did you get from the Hunter network?"

"Uh, this guy Darrell has been working a case. A series of grizzly hotel murders. One at the Kensington, another at the Waldorf in Cleveland. Bodies stabbed and hanging on the ceiling."

Dean was taken aback. "Sounds a little more homicidal maniac then witchy."

Sam nodded. "That's what Darrell thought too until the autopsy came back. Actual cause of death-"

"Let me guess," Dean stepped in. "Boiled brains?"

"Yeah, same as our waiter."

"Well, I'll give this to the witch, she's got deep pockets. The Kensington, the Waldorf, this restaurant, that can't be cheap."

Sam's eyes widened. "Yeah…let's go," he said as he stood up.

"Where are we going?"

"To check out every five star hotel in the area."

"Oh," Dean said a little excited. This was a nice change from checking every down in the dump motel like they usual had to.

* * *

At the morgue, one of the forensic doctors was leading someone through the doors into the storage area. He pulled the door open and slid the slab out where the body of the dead waiter from the bistro out.

He then looked up at the young man. "Is that him?"

The young man looked up to reveal the face of Orville Thomas. His face was scrunched up and let out a deep breath. "Yeah," he said in a low voice. "That's my cousin."

"I'm sorry," the doctor said with a soft tone.

Orville's face looked pained. "Do you mind giving us a moment alone please?" he asked the doctor.

The man nodded. "Of course."

Orville's head dipped down as he just stared sadly down at the body. The doctor then stepped around and headed for the door. As soon as Orville heard the slam of the door, the sad look on his face disappeared and his eyes narrowed in concentration. He looked over his shoulder to see if he was completely alone but noticed a camera off in the corner of the ceiling overseeing the room. He whispered a spell as he eyed it. Over at security office, the screen showing the morgue storage area went into static and fuzz. Orville had been on the lookout for any sign of Lucas and came across news of these strange deaths that he thought had a basis in magic. He came to investigate in case that Lucas was involved. He had to find him and bring him in. He was his responsibility.

Orville then went and moved the palm of his hand over the corpse's head and muttered another spell. At the corpse's chest there was a symbol that seemed to burn itself on the skin there. It was a revealing spell to see into the origin of the magic that was used on an object or person. The symbol was then completed and Orville's eyes widened at the sight of it.

"No…" he muttered. "Not them." Orville heard the sound of footsteps coming closer and he went to replace the tarp over the body of the waiter. He then made to head for the door just as the doctor was coming back. "Thank you," he said to the man. "I'm sorry but I have to go and make a few calls."

"Of course," the doctor said moving to let him step out.

Orville then stomped off out of the building with a determined look on his face.

* * *

Over at a high rise five star hotel room, Rowena was reading up from one of her books when there was a knock on the door.

"Okay," she said as she put her book down and looked to her two new students. "You two ready for some practice?"

The two of them nodded as they moved to get ready.

"Who is it?" asked Caitlin.

"Probably the hotel manager. Probably here to complain that I haven't paid the bill. You have the spells I gave you?"

"Yeah, about that," Elle said as she went to get the spell. "I don't read Spanish."

Rowena gave her a look. "It's Latin." But she shook it off. "Don't worry. Schematics are on the back darling." She then moved to look out the peephole to see the hotel bellboy there. "Get ready," she said to them. "And on my word," she said before she opened the door.

However, the three of them froze when they saw that the bellboy's throat was slit open and his body fell forward revealing a man and woman standing there.

The two of them flashed their black eyes at them to reveal themselves as demons.

The demon woman came forward and looked at Rowena. "I'm afraid its check-out time." Rowena was taken and gagged while the two hookers were escorted off behind her. "You're in for a world of hurt when we bring you to our boss."

"What about us?" asked Caitlin. "I'm not going back to that…place."

The demon looked over at her with a mild glare. "Operation Skank has been terminated. The only place you two are going is the dumpster out back," she said savagely.

The demon then turned to look ahead again to see that their way was blocked by Sam and Dean Winchester. They all froze for a second before Dean went and quickly thrust the knife directly into the demon in the lead killing her. That made the other demon charge at Dean and block his strike and threw him to the ground. Sam moved in and threw a punch at him which the demon returned. The demon struck Sam again and threw him off towards the floor. He stomped over to keep up his attack but Dean had grabbed the demon from behind and drove the knife right into his back and killed him. Sam froze momentarily as he caught the look in his brother's eyes as he held the demon up as he twisted the knife in his back. Dean's gaze was a both hateful and content. As if prolonging the stab gave him some form of comfort.

"Dean," Sam said getting back to his feet.

Dean seemed to snap out of whatever trance he was under and let the long dead demon go to fall to the ground. The two of them then turned to see what had to be Rowena with the two hookers staring at them from the other side of the hall.

"Who are those guys?" asked Caitlin.

Rowena finished taking off the gag that the demons had put on her. "Hunters," she spat out.

"Let's get out of here," Elle said panicked. She started to move down the hall but Rowena grabbed her.

"That's not an exit," she said to her.

"Don't worry ladies," said Dean as he advanced with Sam right behind him. "Our beef isn't with you. It's with the witch. Rowena, is it?"

She smiled at them. "It's always nice to be recognized."

The two brothers kept getting closer and the girls next to Rowena were getting more nervous.

"Do something," Elle cried out. "A spell!"

Rowena gave her a look. "That's an excellent idea." She then put a talisman in Elle's hand and muttered a quick spell.

Elle started screaming and doubling over as if she was in great pain.

"What did you do to her?" Dean shouted.

Rowena just shrugged at him and Elle stopped shouting. She then lifted her head at the brothers and they saw that her eyes had gone sickly red with matching red veins extending to the skin around her eye sockets. She growled at them like an attack dog before she moved to slam at them. Rowena then grabbed a scared Caitlin and ran off as Elle cleared a path for them. Sam and Dean quickly got up and looked from Elle to the two girls making a break for it.

"Go!" Sam shouted at Dean. "Go!" he said as he pushed Dean off to follow Rowena while he stayed to try and keep Elle at bay.

* * *

Rowena and Caitlin made it to the alley outside but Caitlin was pulling at Rowena's grip to try and free herself.

"What did you do? What did you do to her?!" she screamed.

Rowena finally let her go but didn't look at her. "An attack dog spell. We needed a decoy."

"But…she'll die. Just like the waiter?"

"Probably. Few humans were built to handle magic like that and Elle was weak." Rowena finally turned to look at Caitlin. "But you're not. I saw it the second we met. You are strong."

Caitlin looked at her for a moment before she nodded. "You're right. I am." Caitlin then went and threw a punch right across Rowena's face and then moved to go in the other direction.

Rowena glared at her and started to chant an attack spell but she felt something tap the back of her head.

"Not another word!"

Rowena then slowly turned to see Dean there with his gun trained on her. "Bugger," she muttered almost inaudibly.

Dean smirked at her. "Lady, your luck has just run out."

Rowena kept her look of surprise until her eyes narrowed and a smile found its way to her lips. "I'm pretty sure that's not true," she said with a bit of amusement.

Dean wondered what was up until he heard a click of a gun behind him followed by a small whistle. He turned his head to see that there was a gun trained on him. And the one holding it was Cole Trenton, the guy who had been after him and he had beat down when he was a demon.

"Pal, we got to work on your timing," he said to him. "Look, she may not look like much but letting this one go, big mistake."

"Uh huh," Cole said nonchalantly as he kept his gun on him.

Rowena tilted her head at Dean. "You heard the boy."

Dean glared at her for a moment before he went and put the safety on his gun on and then threw it to the side. Rowena gave Dean a wink before she strolled off leaving the two of them alone.

Dean then turned around to fully face Cole. "Look, I'm sorry about what happened last time. I'm sorry about a lot of things." Cole didn't look like he was interested in Dean's excuses. "You have to know that I'm not the same person that I was then."

"You're not a person at all." Cole smiled as he went for his pocket. "You see, I know all about your kind now."

Dean's eyes widened. "My kind?"

His confusion went away when Cole then pulled out a thermos and splashed him in the face. Then he understood. Understanding that Cole thought that he could hurt him with holy water.

Cole was confused for why he wasn't hurt. "What the-?" he whispered almost to himself.

Dean went and wiped some of the water off him. "I'm not a demon anymore."

"So…were you a demon when you murdered my father?" he asked savagely.

Dean looked him in the eye. "No," he said simply.

Cole nodded. "Then you're still a monster." Cole then quickly slammed the butt of his gun into Dean's face and Dean quickly retaliated with a punch of his own. Cole tried to train the gun back on Dean's head but Dean caught him and then pushed and made his hand drop it. He then threw another punch to make Cole take a step back. Cole just smiled. This is what he had wanted from the start. Him and his father's killer, and this time it was a fair fight. "Let's go."

Cole put his hands up and Dean let out a breath before he got himself ready.

* * *

Back inside the hotel, Sam was trying to keep Elle back but her strength was almost overwhelming. He then put his whole body into a tackle and pushed her into a towel closet. He then moved to close the door and placed his back to it and pushed on it as hard as he could as she pounded against it to get back out.

"Let me out!" she screamed from inside.

"Whatever she did to you, you have to fight it," Sam yelled to her.

"I…can't," she gasped out as she kept slamming against the door.

The door was starting to crack and Sam stepped back as he saw that the wood was starting to break apart. She would get through the door soon enough. Sam didn't see a choice as he reached for his gun and aimed it at the door. It kept cracking and it looked like any second it would crumble and she would leap out to attack him but it just stopped. Sam slowly moved for the doorknob and then turned it and his eyes widened as he saw Elle. She was standing there, her face ghostly white and her eyes completely bloodshot and she fell to the floor stone cold dead.

* * *

Cole and Dean kept hammering away at one another. Their blows were starting to leave very visible marks. Cole was actually smiling even though he has a cut on his head and a bruise on his left cheek. He is smiling because now Dean's face had welts all over from his own hits. Dean saw that Cole wasn't going to just back down. If he beat this guy down and got away then Cole would just come after him again like before and he couldn't have that. Dean's eyes went down to see where he dropped his gun. Cole eyed it too. The two of them then dove for it but Dean knocked him down and got to it first. He locked it on Cole before he could get back to his feet.

"Enough!" Dean spat out at him.

Cole just savagely glared at him as he kept the gun trained on him. "Well? What are you waiting for?" He then held his hands out. "Do it."

But Dean didn't move a finger. He just kept his glare up. "No," he muttered. "I'm going to clear this mess up once and for all. You're going to give me five minutes and we're going to talk." He then brought his gun up away from him. "Get up." Cole slowly got to his feet but kept his glare on him as Dean moved the gun back on him. "After that, if you don't like what you hear," Dean then turned the gun around and moved to give it to him. "You still want me dead then you take your shot."

Cole's glare actually dropped at that point. He slowly went for the gun that was reached out to him but was careful in case this was some kind of a trick. But when he got the gun back in his grip he pulled it away and turned it on Dean, he saw that Dean was still calm.

"Talk," Cole said.

"What I do, is hunt monsters," Dean started. "And your dad Cole, he was a monster."

Cole scoffed at him and kept a tighter hold on the gun. "Yeah, you say that now. But last time we fought you couldn't even remember his name," he said in disbelief.

"It was 2003," Dean cut in calmly. "Pontiac, New York. Ed Trenton. I was working a case, three dead. Livers ripped out and eaten, by your father."

Cole rolled his eyes. "Livers?"

But Dean didn't falter. "I tracked him down that night. At your house."

Cole grit his teeth as he kept his disbelief up. "You say he was a monster? Okay, then what kind of monster was he?"

"I don't know," said Dean. "I've never seen that kind before and I've never seen it again." Cole kept his leer on him and Dean continued. "All I know is that he came home that night looking to kill. Could've been you, could've been your mom."

But Cole was shaking his head. "No," he choked out. He wasn't believing this. His dad wasn't a monster. He would've noticed if there was blood suddenly appearing on his dad's chin or clothes from cutting into people and scarfing down people's livers. Dean had to be lying to him.

"The only reason that didn't happen was because I was there to stop him," Dean shot out.

"I heard his voice," Cole argued. "It was a human voice and he begged you to stop!" he spat out.

"It was a ploy," Dean shot back. "It's a monster's trick. I know what you heard but know this: That was not your father Cole. Your father was already gone." Cole was now looking at him with sadness and was still shaking his head. Dean could tell that he was starting to reach him a bit but his eyes widened at Cole's back. "Put it down. Sam, put it down!"

Cole turned around and pointed his gun at Sam who had his gun also pointed on him. Sam had come out after leaving Elle at that hallway and saw that Cole was back and had his gun on Dean. Immediately, he had his gun out and ready to take Cole out. He knew that if Dean died again then he would become a demon and it would be the end and he wouldn't have that.

"Cole," Dean said. "It's fine."

"Dean!" Sam grunted out.

"Put it down!" Dean roared at him.

Sam saw that Dean was serious about wanting Sam to lower his gun. Sam saw that the bloodlust he noticed earlier was gone from him and his brother seemed stable so he lowered his gun to not let it get tempered if Cole went and shot him.

Cole then turned back to Dean and trained his gun back on him but Dean held his hands up at him. Sam raised his gun back up a bit but Dean looked at his brother and shook his head.

"Whoa. Cole, we're talking," Dean said calmly to him despite the gun raised back at him again.

Cole just shook his head. "Why should I even believe you? Huh? How can I believe you?!" he roared at him. Dean just stared back at him calmly which only made Cole more nervous as he wasn't facing the savage monster he was set to pursue. "My whole life…I've been-"

Dean nodded. "Yeah, I get it. That was your story." Cole nodded. "Look man, I got one of those too. "But…those stories that we tell to keep us going…sometimes they blind us. They take us to some dark places. The kind of place where I might beat the crap out of a good man, just for the fun of it. The people I care about, they pulled me out of there but once you touch that darkness…it never goes away. And…the truth is…I'm passed saving." That made Sam narrow his eyes at his brother. "I know how my story ends. It's at the edge of a blade or the barrel of a gun. And where I go from there…I know it won't be pretty. So, I gotta ask…is that going to be today?" He looked right into Cole's hurt eyes and then looked to the gun in his hands. "Is it going to be that gun?"

Cole's hands were shaking as he looked at Dean. All the times he visualized this moment, the moment where he finally had Dean Winchester, this was the farthest from what he had envisioned. How it would look or how it would feel.

"You've got a family Cole," Sam said from behind him making Cole turn to look at him. "I heard you. On the phone that night. I'm guessing that they need you to come back. And, they need you to come back whole."

Cole let a tear fall at the thought of his wife and his son. He just realized that he'd been gone so long from them. Ever since he learned about demons he hadn't even given them a call. His wife must be freaking out and his son was probably starting to think that he wasn't going to come back. He didn't want that for them. He found himself giving Dean back his gun. Cole wanted to go back to his family. Back to where there was no demons or monsters.

* * *

Caitlin ran off down an alley a few blocks away to put further distance from Rowena and the hunters as she could. She looked back and didn't see any signs of them coming for her and seemed to think that she would be okay until she turned back to look ahead of her and then stopped in her tracks. She had nearly run into a man in a dark jacket who was leering at her.

"Going somewhere skank?" the man said savagely at her.

Caitlin then started to back away slowly and raised her hand up. "Just…leave me alone!" she said as she stepped back.

But the demon just stepped off after her and flashed his black eyes while shaking her head. "Nope. Sorry but no can do. My other friends got your red-haired mentor and now I have you."

His face went into a savage fit of joy as he reached forward and grabbed Caitlin by her hair as she started to scream out in pain and fear. The demon went and slammed her against the wall before reaching into his inner pocket and pulled out a large knife. Caitlin gave a shriek at the sight of it and closed her eyes as he raised it up. He then was about to drive it in her when, as he began his thrust, the blade flew out of his grip and went off into the air. It flew off into the waiting hands of Orville Thomas.

"Kinky," he said eyeing the knife. "But I don't think the lady is really into that kind of thing if that scream was anything to go by. Didn't really have that aroused feeling behind it." He then pocketed the knife. "I think the black demon eyes are a serious turn off," he said jokingly.

The demon threw the girl to the floor before he turned to face him. "Boy, you just made a very stupid mistake."

Orville narrowed his eyes. "No…I don't think so. It certainly doesn't feel wrong."

"Don't worry," he said as he smirked at him. "In half a minute, it will."

He then moved to charge for Orville but the young druid quickly extended his hand and quickly chanted. " _ **Munda Et Perdere**_!"

A light flashed from Orville's belt where his gris-gris bag was fastened which was mimicked in his hand. The demon froze in his place and he tensed up. His arms spread out and his head tilted straight up and the demon started to smoke itself out from the man's throat. As soon as all of it came out the body dropped as the smoke stayed in the air, swirling around in place. It started to glow red from the inside before spread and then combusted in a show of fire and gray smoke. It then slowly dissipated until there was no sign left.

Caitlin was clutching her throat as her eyes went from the body on the ground to the young man standing off to the side as he started to lower his arm. "You're a witch too?"

Orville turned his head to look down at her. "No, not a witch, but I am looking for one." He moved for the man's body and felt his neck for a pulse but let out a frustrated sigh as there was no sign of one meaning that the guy probably has been dead for a while. He then started to move towards the girl and she started to crawl back. Orville stopped and raised his hands up. "Whoa, it's okay. You don't have to be scared. I'm not here to hurt you."

"Then what do you want?" she nearly shouted out in fright.

"I just want to talk," Orville said in a soft voice to try and not let her freak even more out. He then bent down slightly to be more leveled with her still on the ground. "I'm thinking you might be able to help me find who I'm looking for."

* * *

Dean and Sam watched as Cole went and drove off in his jeep.

"He say where he's going?" Sam asked him.

"Home," Dean breathed out.

"Rowena?"

"In the wind," Dean sighed out.

Sam nodded but then he caught his brother's eye. "What you said, back there, about being passed saving…were you really-"

"I was just telling the guy what he needed to hear." Sam nodded at that which Dean returned. "We better go."

As Dean walked off, Sam just stared. Today, Dean had tapped into that dark place again, even if it was for a moment but he was able to pull himself away. But…Sam wondered what would happen if this kept up and Dean found that he couldn't to pull himself back again. It was obvious that trying to lay low and avoid Dean fighting wasn't possible as they still got drawn into a case even when they were trying to take a break. What really got Sam though was the way Dean talked about how his story ended…it was like he was resigning himself to his fate. It reminded him of when they only had one year before Dean was going to Hell. Sam wasn't able to save his brother then…he wouldn't fail again. He couldn't. He would find a way to save his brother. He then went and walked right after him for the car.

* * *

Castiel pulled all the papers that he had on the walls off and into a pile he had on a table before scooped them into a box. He then put that box into the trunk of his car before he went and pulled out of the motel parking lot. It was time for him to move on. It wouldn't be wise to stay in one place too long if he was officially classed as a renegade now. He had a destination in mind…he just hoped that it somehow put him closer to putting an end to all of this.

* * *

Over at Crowley's place, the King of Hell was being escorted to his dungeons by Gerald.

"The Winchesters showed up," he said as he escorted Crowley to the cells. "Alpha team went down but Beta team was working contingency. Had a perimeter around the hotel. We lost one man on the beta team, we aren't sure how, but we got her just the same." They then stopped outside one of the rooms. "Right in there. Tortured. If you like, I could finish her off," he said with a smile.

Crowley just stared blankly at him. "Wipe that ridiculous smile off of your face. What, you want a medal? For cleaning up the mess that you made!" Gerald's smile did vanish and he took a step back. Crowley sent him a look and he walked off leaving Crowley to be alone with the witch. "Everyone working for me," he mumbled as he opened the door. "Bunch, of stupid, incompetent, whiny infants."

Crowley then stepped inside and he froze as his eyes looked upon the witch clad in iron chains. Her face was sporting some bruises and cuts.

Rowena looked up at Crowley and sent him a small smile. "The king at last. King of what? Lilliput? I mean I heard you were short but-" Rowena froze as she saw that Crowley was just looking at her with a blank and disbelieving look on his face. "Well? Get to it!" she spat. "Time for the coup de grace." But Crowley didn't move. "Wee boy…something the matter with you? Cat got your tongue? Meow," she muttered amusingly at him.

But Crowley kept up his stare. His eyes widened a bit. "Mother?" he managed to choke out.

* * *

 **End of Chapter 9**

A/N: Well, it looks like Orville is back. We've had Lucas back and now Orville is here too. He'll be making more appearances later on in the future, as will Lucas as new players in all of this. And Rowena is here too. I just love her.

The next chapter will have Crowley thinking on what he should do with his mother now that he has her as his prisoner. Also, the hunter network is taking hits as they are being taken and arrested by the authorities and Sam and Dean try to find out how.


	9. Infernal Affairs

Chapter 9: Infernal Affairs

Jeremy Cates was sitting in his home watching some news. A bottle of beer was in the table next to his armchair. He was staring at the television, with a blank look on his face, not really watching. A scruffy beard had started to set in on his chin but he didn't care to shave or even groom it. His eyes widened when the screen started to show a news report with two pictures of a couple. The news anchor told of this couple found dead on the side of a back road, signs that they must've been mauled by a wild animal. It had the classic signs of a hunt.

Jeremy quickly reached for the remote and shut the TV off. His breathing increased and some sweat started to pour down his brow. Suddenly, his ears started to vibrate as he heard the loud noise of screaming and his eyes itched as they started to show him the sight of knives cutting into human flesh and blood spewing out. He saw the face of a red haired woman taken by a demon to flay those people in front of him as he hung helpless in the air as he could only watch. Jeremy quickly shook his head to try and make it all go away as he reached over for the liquor bottle and started to quickly drain it. When he removed the bottle away from his lips, he scrunched up his nose as he let out a stressed sniffle.

He went to wipe at his eyes when a shape moved passed his window. Jeremy stood up and shut the TV off before he went over to his kitchen cabinet and took a container of salt out. He ran off and started to put a line of salt at the window and made one at the door. He then heard the sound of loud thumping and there was some shaking so he ran and removed a sawed off from underneath his coffee table. He aimed it for the door as he could hear shuffling feet behind it and cocked the shotgun. He tightened his hold as he moved to take cover behind his chair. But the windows behind him behind him exploded as men in black started to fly on in.

Jeremy quickly turned around to fire on them when the door broke down as armed men barged on in with their weapons locked on him.

"Drop your weapon!"

"Police!"

"Get down!"

"Now or we'll shoot!"

Those shouts echoed through the room and Jeremy quickly held his hands up.

"Okay!" he shouted as he raised his hands up after letting go of the shotgun.

"Cuff him," one of the men said to a man next to him.

Next, Jeremy found his arms getting yanked behind his back as they were being put in handcuffs.

"Jeremy Cates, you are under arrest. You have the right to remain silent. Everything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford one then one will be provided to you at government expense."

As the cop recited his rights, some of the other officers started going around and were going into his closet and room, revealing the false walls hiding his weapon caches. From how they were moving, it was like they knew what they were looking for. Jeremy was led out to where there were squad cars waiting. He was then manhandled into the backseat of one. Jeremy looked out the window towards his house with a confused look on his face.

What the hell was going on?

* * *

 **Supernatural**

* * *

Dean was getting out of the shower and wiped at the condensation on the bathroom mirror. He was greeted with the sight of bags under his eyes. He hadn't been sleeping very well for the last few days. He kept seeing himself as a demon, hurting people, hurting his brother and enjoying it. He went and splashed some cold water at his eyes before he then looked over at his right arm to where the Mark of Cain was shown, in all its glory. He looked at it for a few moments before he forced himself to turn away. He looked back up at his eyes reflected in the mirror. Suddenly, he had mental flashes of the First Blade. Taking it in hand and jamming it into the guy that sold his soul, slashing up the Battalion members at the Pavilion, killing Agent Donovan. Dean shut his eyes and tried to push the images out of his head. He was clenching his hands into tight fists before he let out a deep breath and loosened his hands. He then moved to step out of the bathroom.

He made his way over to the library where Sam was looking through a few books. "Morning," Dean mumbled.

"Morning," Sam said back to him, not taking his eyes off of the page he was currently on.

Dean saw the focus in his brother's eyes. "What are you reading?"

"Huh?" Sam said looking up.

Dean moved on over to him and pointed at the book in Sam's hand. "Your face was practically glued to that one. Anything good?"

Sam shrugged. "Oh, just…some research. That's it." He then went back to skimming through the pages. Sam was trying to find any kind of information to try and remove the mark from Dean. He was resolved to save his brother even more given the resigned attitude that he seemed to take. Sam would now stop at nothing to save Dean and prove to Abel that this was one crisis that he would definitely fix.

Dean nodded and didn't say another word. He had a feeling what Sam was trying to do. He knew because if the roles were reversed, he would be the one doing it. But Dean also knew that unlike his brother, he didn't deserve to have help. Not with this and not after everything that had happened. "Listen, I'm going to make a milk run. You need anything?"

Sam looked away from his book, back up at him. "Uh, no. I'm alright."

"Okay," Dean grunted.

Dean moved to leave and Sam took a moment to watch him go solemnly before he moved to turn the page. There was a painted image of Cain standing above Abel. In his hand was the jawbone that would inevitably become the First Blade. Sam sighed at the sight of it.

* * *

Rowena was trying to rest as her wrists hung from the hanging shackles higher up on the wall as she was sitting on the floor of her cell. Ever since the revelation that the King of Hell was really her son Fergus, he had just left her there and hadn't made any kind of contact at all. She had lost count of the days after the first week. When the sounds of her door being unlatched echoed in her ears, Rowena jolted up straight just as the door opened and a woman was thrown inside with the demon from the whorehouse right behind her. Rowena focused her vision on the woman and felt that she was a demon herself. She was backing away until her back was against the wall.

"Sit," the other demon hissed at her. The demon woman sat down as her captor went and shackled her wrists to the wall like Rowena was. "Stay," he said once he was finished. The woman just stared up at him blankly. "Good dog," he said amusingly before he started to head out.

"Wait!" Rowena called out before he could leave. The demon stopped and looked over at her. "My son. I need to talk to him." The demon just snorted at him. "It's been weeks," Rowena whimpered. The demon just shook his head and moved to close the door. "Tell him I'm sorry," she tried as the guy closed the door shut. She then backed herself into the wall and let out a grunt of irritation. She then heard the chains beside her jingle and looked over to see the demon prisoner trying to pull on her chains. "That won't work," she slurred to her.

"I didn't ask you Braveheart," she spat at Rowena.

"Freedom," she amusingly chanted. Rowena then took a calming breath. "So…what are we in for?" The demon gave her a look and Rowena shrugged. "Small talk darling. Just passing the time."

The demon relaxed. "I'm here because I shouldn't be here."

Rowena now gave her a look. "Is that a riddle?"

"Crowley only allows certain demons to come Earthside. I wasn't on the list so I had to get myself smuggled out."

"And what did that cost?'

"A favor."

"A favor?" Rowena repeated.

"Bloody," the demon said as if that was all the explanation needed.

Rowena widened her eyes. "Oh."

The demon then turned away. "I figure the King lets me stew for a while and then he asks me how I Houdini'd my way out of Hell. And he ain't going to ask nice." She then looked over at Rowena. "What about you? What's your sin?"

Rowena looked away from the demon. "I…was a horrible mother," she said slowly.

* * *

"She was a horrible mother," Crowley spat out as he paced in his throne room. The demon, Gerald, had visited Rowena's cell relayed what his mother said and it sent him into a frenzy. Crowley stopped pacing and faced him. "Did I ever tell you about the time that she almost traded me for three pigs? Three!" He then shrugged. "I was an attractive child. I could juggle. I was worth five pigs at least." Crowley then went back to pacing.

"My mom used to burn me with cigarettes," Gerald shared.

"Nobody cares Gerald," Crowley spat at him before he went back to ranting. "Oh and don't get me started on the name. Fergus. Sounds like a venereal disease and not the fun kind."

Crowley went to sit back on his throne and grabbed a glass of scotch. Gerald moved to stand in front of him.

"Boss, if you hate this bitch so much, why not end her?"

Crowley looked at him silently for a moment. "I have my reasons," he muttered.

"Well, I killed my old lady, because of the cigarettes. I have no problem doing yours."

Crowley didn't respond to that. He just went and took a drink from his glass.

* * *

Dean parked his Impala in the supermarket's parking lot as he moved in to the store's bakery section first. He went over to the shelves where there were boxes of pies on display. There were five choices and Dean was weighing which one he wanted to take. He was just going to pick one up at random when his gaze fell on a flat screen showing a news anchor with a picture of a man displayed at the top right corner of him. The man's picture made Dean's eyes widen.

"Jeremy?" Dean mumbled.

He hadn't seen the guy since he and Sam had saved him when he was taken by Abaddon. Dean looked at the caption on the bottom and saw that it read: **The Friendly Neighborhood Hitman Apprehended!?** It looked like he had slipped and been caught by the police. Then the news report went to an on the scene interview where there was a man identified as FBI agent Victor Morales. The volume was muted so Dean couldn't hear what the man was saying but when the agent went to point to the scene behind him, his sleeve went down to reveal a leather cuff.

"Son of a bitch," Dean muttered.

* * *

Jeremy was handcuffed to the table but it didn't matter because he wasn't struggling to try and get out. He just sat there, silently looking at his own hands as the police detective was silently flipping through papers in a folder. Jeremy recognized the man as the one that had led the raid into his home. After a bit, he just snapped.

"You've been sitting there flipping through papers for ten minutes. Are you going to ever get to the point where you tell me why I'm here?"

The detective finally looked up at him. "Oh, I'm sorry," he said with a bit of amusement. "I was just trying to catch myself up. You've been quite the busy boy, haven't you Mr. Cates? So, I would think that it was clear why you're here."

Jeremy took a deep breath and looked up at the detective's hard face. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Oh?" The detective then went over and threw a baggie with a bunch of ID's in it. He then opened it. "Do you have an idea now Mr. Cates? Or is it Mr. Wainwright? Mr. Stevens? Mr. Reynolds?" He said as he flipped through the ID's. "And I see that you're a health inspector. An official for the CDC and even a Fed. Wow, and you still find time to be a carpenter? Your home had hidden compartments built into the walls. Compartments filled with an armory that could almost rival this station. Do you have some idea now?" Jeremy just looked away from the detective. "Oh, well I'll keep going and recite the charges. See if something stirs in that melon of yours. Several accounts of credit card fraud, mail fraud, aggravated assault cases, battery, breaking and entering,...grave desecration," he said taking his time reading the last part from the list of files he had. "Identity fraud and quite a few cases of Second and First Degree Murder. Any of that give you any kind of idea yet?"

Jeremy kept his gaze down. He knew that he was screwed. Once you get caught like this, there is little to no chance of getting out. That's how it is for a hunter, even if he hadn't been hunting ever since that night he was taken. He almost didn't even hear the interrogating room's door open and he looked up to see a man in a suit stepping inside with a folder in hand.

"Jeremy Cates?" he asked.

The detective stood up. "Who are you?"

"Oh yes," the man said taking out his badge and flashing it to him. "Agent Victor Morales. I'm actually the one that authorized your arrest of this man. I appreciate you and your friends' fine work but your job's over. I'll take it from here."

The detective seemed hesitant. "Are you sure? I mean I was just starting to-"

"I'm sure that you laid out the foundations of this but your part's done Detective. I've already spoken with your supervisor and handled out the details. You can go speak with him if you want but I would like some time alone with Mr. Cates."

"Fine," he huffed out.

The detective walked out and Agent Morales shut the door behind him. He then moved to sit down in front of Jeremy like the detective had. Jeremy just looked down but after a minute of nothing happening, he looked up to see the agent was staring at him blankly.

Agent Morales caught his eye and narrowed his. "Do you know why you're here Mr. Cates?"

"Too late," Jeremy slurred as he pointed off to the door. "Law & Order already read me my laundry list."

"That's why you were arrested. But, do you know why you're _here_? With _me_?" Morales stressed.

"Should I?" he asked tirelessly.

"Maybe you just need a hint. Does the name Logan Donovan ring a bell?"

Jeremy shrugged his shoulders. "Should I know who that is?"

Agent Morales' jaw tightened. "He was my mentor. A very good friend. A very good agent and even better man. And I want the _thing_ that killed him."

Jeremy's eyes narrowed. His insides went a little cold. Suddenly, everything in the room seemed to be crushed by the tension that was now pressing on it. "Thing? What thing?"

"Something that I know you're familiar with. Something that goes by the name of Dean Winchester."

Agent Morales now was full on glaring at Jeremy while the hunter's breath caught itself in his throat.

"Who are you?"

"I'm a fed." He then slammed Jeremy's fake FBI badge down in front of him. "And unlike you and your kind, my ID is real."

* * *

Dean quickly went back to the Bunker and told Sam what he saw on the news. Sam quickly moved to hack into the fed's database to try to find out what was going on with Jeremy. Dean was wondering if the Battalion was now trying to set Jeremy up.

Sam suddenly stopped in his typing. "I don't believe this," he muttered as he stared at the screen.

"What?" Dean said trying to get a better look.

"Jeremy's been officially placed into the federal database. They have a whole list of charges attached to his name and it says that he's also suspected of being part of an underground weapon smuggling ring. All of the guns, combat knives and ammunition that they found at Jeremy's place help to sell that."

"Hmm…you know, I never really thought of it but if the hunter thing never worked out then I guess there always was the gun running business." Sam rolled his eyes and Dean narrowed his. "Anything on our Holy Macguyver?"

"Yeah." Sam then clicked on a tab and revealed a photo file of the agent that Dean saw on the television. "Agent Victor Morales. He been in the bureau for almost six years now. A decent rap sheet so far," Sam admitted as he read through the guy's work history.

"Awesome. Another fed working for the Battalion." Dean pushed himself away and started to pace off. "How did this guy even know how to find Jeremy? Sure, he was a little shaken up after that whole Abaddon thing but he's not stupid. He knows how to cover his tracks."

Sam shook his head. "I don't know but he's not the only one."

"What are talking about?"

"Um, well Jeremy is the fifth person that Morales managed to bring in in the last two weeks." Sam then turned the laptop's screen so Dean could get a better look. "Check out the other four."

Dean moved over and leaned in to it. "Stanley Knobloch. Alicia Seamon. Theodore Bennett. Larry Walker. Wait, these are all hunters. Hunters that we know."

"Yeah," Sam nodded. "And all of them are currently in federal custody, under Morales."

Dean then went over and angrily pushed some stray books on the table off to fall to the floor. "Damn them. Those are our friends and they're just getting picked up one by one. It's like they're picking us off."

Sam let out a frustrated puff. Hunters were being hunted. It looked like the Battalion was being poetic. "I'm just wondering how the hell they're even doing this. Agent Morales sent feelers to the local police in each of those areas. It's like he knew exactly who they were and where to find them."

* * *

Victor was just outside the police station, pacing as he scrolled down his list of contacts until he got to Dennis Richards. He sent the call and waited for it to get through. After a few more seconds, he heard the click.

"Dennis?" Victor said immediately.

" _You got him?_ " his friend and fellow Battalion member asked.

"Yeah. That makes five hunters so far."

" _You think they'll cooperate?_ " Dennis asked glumly.

Victor snorted. "It's either that or they get put away for the rest of their super-natural lives."

" _Were you just trying to be funny Vick?_ "

"Uh, yeah."

" _Oh…because you weren't_."

That just made Victor roll his eyes. "Any luck getting more from that phone?"

" _Not yet. Some of these people have registered themselves with aliases on top of aliases. But don't worry, I have one of the best decrypters in the department working on it. We'll get them all eventually._ " Dennis' tone then dropped a bit. " _It's a good thing that Logan had Dean's phone confiscated before he ran wild at the Pavilion. We never would have gotten this far without him_."

Victor's face hardened. "In more ways than one."

" _Vick…are you sure that we're not wasting our time with all of this_."

Victor's grip on his phone tightened. "You think avenging Logan is a waste of time."

" _No!_ " Dennis quickly shouted at him. " _Of course not. I didn't mean it like that. I just think that we could be using our time and resources on the Winchesters, not their contacts. I think that we should be forgetting these random hunters and go straight for the two that really matter_."

"We will and we are Dennis. But, we aren't the first to try and bring those two lunatics in. I want to make sure that we're the last. Monsters, demons and even the angels have tried but haven't. They always seem to see them coming and are ready for them. That's because these hunters know how to deal with them. But, they don't know how to deal with us. With my plans, those two flannel wearing jackasses will be out of everyone's hair. And, don't forget, they're not the only ones. This way, we stop any that try to step into their footsteps and have all this trouble repeated. Think of how much trouble we could be stopping and how much we'll take off of Daniel and the angels' shoulders down the road."

Dennis sighed over the phone. " _Yeah…you're right. So what do we do about the hunters we have? We're going through the system to bring them in. That might corner them but it puts some spotlight on us too. We can't just keep them contained like this much longer. People are going to start asking questions._ "

He glared over at the station. "We'll have to hurry and step it up a bit. I handle the leftover business here. Tell Riley to move the other hunters and meet up at the fall back spot. It's time to finally lay it down on these low-lives that they can't just do what they feel like it anymore."

" _Yeah. I'll tell Riley and I'll be there too. See you soon Vick_ ," Dennis stiffly said before he hung up.

Victor went inside the police station and went into the Sheriff's office where he slammed some forms on the man's desk making the man nearly jump from the force.

"I'm taking Cates into federal custody. Here's all the transfer documentation you need. I'd like to have him cuffed and ready to be on the move within the hour." Victor's face was stern and hard that the Sheriff didn't even think to argue.

* * *

 **End of Chapter 9**

A/N: I'm sorry for the long delay for this update but I had been distracted with my Teen Wolf stories. I don't plan on abandoning this story at all though. I hope this chapter made up for it at least.

Next will have Victor and his friends in the Battalion crack down on the hunters and offer them a choice. One that could spell trouble for Sam and Dean down the road. Rowena also connects with Crowley.


	10. Infernal Affairs part 2

Chapter 10: Infernal Affairs part 2

Rowena was quietly sitting in that dark cell with some light shining down on her from the only window in there. She started hearing some distant footsteps that were starting to get louder and closer. She braced herself when the door started to creak open and she saw that demon that had caught her and threw her in that cell.

He stepped inside and was smiling devilishly at her. "Boss will see you now," he told her.

Before she knew it, she was being pulled and pushed into what seemed to be a makeshift throne room though it had seen better days. The doors were nearly off their own hinges and there were some scorch marks on the floor that seemed recent. But despite that, the podium and throne at the front of the room seemed undamaged and Crowley was sitting quite calmly and comfortably on it. Nearby, leaning against the wall calmly, was Zepar and he tilted his head as he brought out his bottom lip a bit at the sight of the witch. Rowena was pushed until she was just a few feet from him.

"Mother," Crowley grunted, giving her a small glance.

"Fergus," Rowena mirrored back in the same tone.

"Crowley," he spat back. That wasn't his name anymore.

But Rowena didn't bat an eye. "Fergus," she repeated back to him.

"Sassy," Zepar mumbled as he calmly paced over for her. "I like sassy redheads. A bit older than what I typically go after but, I can make an exception," he said raising his eyebrows a little seductively.

Rowena gave him a look. "And who are you? You're no demon."

"No, thank God for that. Literally." His words made Crowley roll his eyes behind the angel's back.

But Rowena looked him up and down and her lips rose to a smile. "You're an angel."

"A fallen angel," Crowley put in.

"Oh, the good kind then," Rowena said as she tried to return Zepar's charming smile back at him.

"I'm not that good, though…I can be good at more fun things."

"Yes, well then perhaps you can be that good somewhere else. I'd like to have a private word with my mother."

Zepar finally broke his gaze from Rowena to face Crowley. "Of course." He then turned back to Rowena. "Another time," he smirked. The sound of flapping wings was heard and he was gone.

Crowley's narrowed eyes lingered on where the angel had disappeared from for a moment before he let an amused scoff out. "So…you haven't changed." He then turned to his a pointed look to his mother before he let his eyes go to the demon to signal that he leave them.

When Rowena was fully released, she relaxed herself as she looked him up and down. "But you sure have. King of Hell, bravo. I always knew my boy was meant for big things."

Crowley's eyebrows rose. "Really? Because I remember that you said that I would die in a gutter, covered in my own sick."

Rowena sighed. "I was motivating you to do better. To aim higher and clearly, it worked. Demons are ruled by you and you have fallen angels working with ya. You did much better than I could ever had hoped." Crowley kept the skeptical look on his face and she narrowed her eyes. "How did you die?" she asked, curious.

Crowley's face hardened. He leaned forward and started speaking in a low but hard tone. "The point is…you hated me."

That made her roll her eyes. "Oh please."

"You said that you'd be back in a flash and you disappeared. I was eight years old! Eight!" he roared out.

"Now you're being dramatic!" she said back, her own face hardening as she started raising her own voice.

"I didn't even have a father!" he said not losing a beat.

"Of course you had a father!" she cut in. "You were just conceived during a Winter Solstice Orgy, and it wasn't like I was taking names." But Crowley angrily looked away from her. "What do you want me to say? I…I had a disagreement with the locals. When they set their hounds on me I had to leave!"

"And never come back?" he stepped in. "For _hundreds_ of years?!"

"I also had some…problems with the Grand Coven. And there were some accursed Druids that were after me. Wanted my head, I had to go into hiding," she sighed before she smiled. "But, I'm here now. I'm here with you now. We have a second chance. We can be a family again Fergus," she told him in a small voice.

But he just stared at her with that same hard expression on his face. "Crowley," he spat at her. "And I have a family."

A small laugh escaped Rowena. "Who, the demons?" Her expression became sorrowful. "Any one of them would stab you in the back if they thought they could get away with it."

Crowley wouldn't admit it but he agreed full heartedly with that statement. "And you wouldn't?" he asked doubtfully.

"No," she denied. "Because we're family. We're blood. You can trust me." He shook his head and looked away from her. "I can help you," she pressed.

"Help me," he mumbled. "How? With your hocus pocus? I already have own little witch for that."

"But they're not like me," Rowena tried to argue. She was a centuries old witch and hoped that her accumulation of spells and rituals could tempt her son to see her value.

"And," Crowley cut in harshly. "Unlike _you_ , I know _he_ is loyal. Not to mention scores of other witches and down on their luck gutter rats pray to me every other day. They all come to me. Worship me! You, my mother, left me!"

Rowena bowed her head down at that. "I know that you're angry." She then started to slowly move for him. "You hate me, and…if you want to keep me locked away, then so be it. But, know that I'll always be your mother. And I'll always love you." She then went and placed a soft kiss on his head.

Crowley just sat there in silence as his mother just softly rubbed at his shoulders and his back.

* * *

Jeremy was put in handcuffs that were then wrapped around a chain that was bolted into the floor of the prison transport. He was staring down at his chained feet as the links jingled together. The van hit a small bump which made him finally snap out of his stupor and look over in the direction of the driver's seat behind a wired gate. He could see two people behind it and he could dimly hear them talking with one another though couldn't make out what they were saying exactly.

"Where are we going?" he asked out at them. But the men didn't say anything. "Hey, where are you taking me?!" he asked more loudly.

The one in the driver's seat knocked his hand against the gate. "Pipe down in there!" he hollered back at him.

Jeremy let his back flatten against the wall of the truck. He sighed out as he let himself slag down where he sat. He stiffened when he heard that the gate was opened. It was Agent Victor Morales.

"Don't mind him. It's been a long day and he's a little cranky," Victor tried to joke but Jeremy just turned to look away from him.

"We're about ten minutes out," the driver told Victor.

"Let me know when we arrive," he told the driver.

"Yes sir," the driver called out as Victor closed the gate behind him.

Victor then moved to sit calmly in front of Jeremy. The man wasn't looking at him but keeping his eyes firmly on the ground. "Cates," Victor softly said to him. "Or Jeremy? Can I call you Jeremy?" Jeremy just kept silently looking away. "Cates then." Victor exhaled deeply and leaned back. "You can relax. Nothing's going to happen, not to you at least."

Jeremy finally looked at him. "What do you mean?"

"You'll know soon enough when we meet with the others."

"Others?" Jeremy mumbled.

Victor then moved to scratch the top bridge of his nose. "So...I've got to ask. What's your story Cates?"

Jeremy narrowed his eyes a bit. "What?"

"Your story," Victor repeated. "I mean, every hunter has a story, right? Some messed up way they got into hunting. Usually they lost someone or were nearly killed or eaten by some monster or the other and you decide to arm yourselves to get payback and even if you get it, you don't stop," he explained. "That's how it usually goes, right? So, what's your story?"

"You don't know what you're talking about," Jeremy mumbled.

But Victor let a small smirk find its way onto him. "Hmm...let me take a stab in the dark here. It...wouldn't have anything to do with your father, would it?" At that Jeremy's gaze shot back at him. "I checked your file, remember? Your personal history was on it. When you were 18, you and your father had gone out on a mountain hike. Your father had been killed on that trip. The cause of death was listed as being mauled by an animal and the mountain rangers guessed it had been a bear. But, you had said it was something different, didn't you? You said it was a-

"Monster," Jeremy mumbled in.

Victor nodded. "But the rangers dismissed it since you had also suffered some injuries and thought it was just trauma."

"What's your point?" Jeremy cut him off.

"My point," Victor said with his tone starting to get a little hard. "Is that I know what brought you into this life. Now...I want to know, why do you stay? What made you go passed your first hunt? Passed your first year? Hell, passed your first ten years?" Victor then took out his badge to show it to him. "I know why I do this. Why I put on this badge and why I still put it on day after day. Year after year. I wanted to stop monsters too though the monsters I went after didn't have fangs and claws but that doesn't make them any less lethal. I haven't been a fed long but I've still seen some people do monstrous things. Look them in the eye and see something less than human. I want to help people, protect people from these kind of monsters. Now, I'm helping to help and protect people from a different kind. These monsters do monstrous things for a living. When you look them in the eye, there is no humanity in them. Because its all been burned away. And I don't want to stop them any less than the ones I've dealt with before."

Jeremy was silent for a moment as he seemed to try and contemplate what he just said when the van seemed to go over some rough terrain. Jeremy and Victor could feel that the van had left the paved road. After another minute, the gate blocking the front slid open.

"We're here Victor," the driver called out to him.

Before he knew it, Jeremy was pulled to his feet and the chains were unlocked from the van's floor. He was then taken out of the back door and blinked his eyes as he found himself in what seemed to be an old, condemned shipyard. There were a few other vans and cars nearby and they were parked into an oddly shaped semi circle. There were over a dozen men with guns, most of them were in law enforcement uniform or were wearing suits. They all had their eyes on a group of roughly half a dozen people in handcuffs and chains who were kneeling on the ground. Jeremy recognized most of them. They were fellow hunters.

One of the armed men, Phillip Dawson, nodded his head over to them. "Victor, you finally made it."

"Traffic was a bitch," Victor joked as he went and took Jeremy and placed him with the other hunters and pushed him down to kneel like they were. He then went over to join the others as most of them moved to put their handguns away though some of the others kept theirs firmly in the hunters' sight.

"So, we can start now?"

Victor nodded. "Yeah, why don't you kick it off Riley?"

Riley cleared his throat. "Alright, I'm Riley Ackerman. I'm a police detective. A _real_ one," he stressed to them the word real which made one or two actually roll their eyes but Riley paid it no mind. "And these other men here with me, they're all real officers, feds and agents as well. Now, I'm sure that all of you have had at least brush with the law in your...line of work," he decided to put it. "But, none of the ones who dealt with you knew just who and what they were dealing with."

"And do you think we don't know who we're dealing with?" one of the hunters chose to speak out. "We know who you all are. You're part of that brigade or whatever that works for the angels."

"Actually, it's more of a Battalion," Phil said with a bit of a smirk before it settled and he became serious. "And we don't work for the angels, we work with them."

"Oh right, you work for that snot nosed Jesus wannabe," snorted another hunter. "Or is it that Fed fanboy of his?"

Like lightning, the hunter found a fist slamming into his jaw. Victor had stomped over and struck the hunter with the hardest punch he could throw and then moved to keep laying it on him. Immediately, the others moved to grab Victor and pull him away.

"Cool it Victor!" Dennis told him as he hands hooked on his shoulders.

Victor grit his teeth and pulled away as he went and stomped off a bit. He started to breathe deeply and tried to calm himself down. Hearing the insult against Logan had set him off. The pain was still a little fresh for comfort.

The hunter who he had hit managed to pull himself back to a kneeling position. His lip was now bleeding and he moved to spit out some blood. "You're crazy."

"You're an idiot," Dennis spat at him. "You have no idea who you just insulted. Two good men that are better than you will ever know."

"More like two dewy eyed morons that think they're some kind of heroes," another hunter piped up. "You act like you know what's really going on in this world but you can even begin to guess what this life can bring. You make a living going after punks and you think you can handle what's really out there? This isn't some case file you get handed by an asshole suit, this is for life. You have no idea what you're messing in."

"And you're the experts, is that it?" Phillip said as he rested his hands on his hips. "You all go through some kind of experience, maybe you get attacked by some _thing_ or see someone get killed by one and you take off on the road. That means you understand what's going on? That you know more about a life of duty than us?" His words made the hunters glare at him and Phillip just shook his head and snorted at them. "Hunters really are crazy. They go through living hells, literally, and deal by looking for more? How does that make any sense? You don't take people who were in a hostage situation and sign them up to a SWAT team. We know the risks, we've seen the risks, hell we've taken the risks. We know what we're doing. Are you sure you're not the ones that have no idea what you're messing in?"

"If you were, then you wouldn't be taking what Sam or Dean no doubt told you about us to heart," Riley calmly chimed in. "I'm sure that to all of you they must seem like heroes or idols considering who've they tangoed with. But, did you know that over half of those were ones that they set loose to begin with? The demon Lilith, Lucifer, Leviathan, and Abaddon. They defeated them, yes, after they broke them free to try and save their family or settle their petty personal issues. And now, they've helped release the angel that actually trained the Devil himself, one of them was recently a demon and are close frenemies with the King of Hell himself. Are you sure we're the ones that don't know what we're messing in?"

The hunters all had skeptical and disbelieving looks on their faces.

Jeremy especially. He remembered how Sam and Dean saved him from that demon Abaddon last year. "You're lying," he gasped out.

Victor finally turned around to face them again. "Oh, we are, are we?" He then brought out the phone that Logan had confiscated from Dean weeks ago. "This is how we found all of you. Dean Winchester's phone. We managed to take it off him a few weeks ago. You're all on his list of contacts, hunters and other supernatural savvy connections that he has but those aren't the only ones." He then went and scrolled down the list until he got to the one he needed them to see. "Seems he also has the King of Hell himself, right here on speed dial. And from the history, they tend to talk to each other more often than you'd think," The hunters either glared at the phone or their jaws fell slightly as they stared blankly at it. He then went and pocketed it. "Maybe its high time that you all heard the real story about Sam and Dean. After that, maybe we could finally get down to business."

* * *

The door of the cell was pulled open just before Rowena was manhandled back into the cell by Gerald as Crowley followed silently behind. Her fellow demon prisoner was shocked to find that they all came charging in and backed away towards the wall. Gerald pushed Rowena to the ground as he readied her chains. He yanked her up and was getting ready to re-shackle her.

"Stop!" she cried as she pulled her hand free. She then looked back at her son. "I know who's been smuggling souls up from Hell."

"Really?" Crowley grunted. "Pray, do tell."

She then turned and looked over at Gerald. "Him."

Gerald sucked his teeth. "What?"

The prisoner then lifted herself up. "It's true my lord. Gerald, we made a deal."

Gerald quickly looked over at Crowley. "She's lying," he said fast and defensive.

"Why?" Rowena cried. "Why would she lie?"

Gerald narrowed his eyes as he went and pushed Rowena to the wall and began to choke her.

Crowley watched him do that to his mother for a moment before he went and huffed out in discomfort. "That's enough of that Gerald," Crowley said calmly to him.

But Gerald wasn't stopping. He only moved to grip her throat even harder. "I'll kill you bitch!" he spat at her.

"That's enough Gerald," Crowley repeated, still calmly but a bit more sterner than before. However, Gerald wasn't stopping. Rowena could barely let out any cries at all from her throat. Suddenly, his grip loosened when an angel blade found itself lodged in through the back of his head. Crowley then viciously ripped it out. "I said that was enough Gerald," he told the fallen corpse.

Rowena went to rub at her throat as Crowley moved to walk out the room. "Thank you," she said in a soft tone.

Crowley stopped at the doorway and then looked over at her. "Coming?" he asked after a moment.

Crowley then moved on and Rowena went to follow on after him. However, the demon prisoner stopped her.

"Rowena," she hissed at her. "You said that if I lied, you'd get me out of here."

Rowena made it to the door and looked over at her. "And I will darling. I'll be back in a flash."

She then moved to close the door and lock it behind her.

* * *

Dean was pacing right by the Impala as he was on his phone.

"Yeah, spread the word. Everyone should go to ground for a while. Yeah, okay." Dean then hung up and let out a frustrated sigh out as Sam came out of the station. "Anything?"

Sam shook his head. "No, Jeremy wasn't in. Apparently, he was taken out to be transferred in an armored car into federal custody under Morales' supervision a couple hours ago. Since it isn't in the Sheriff's jurisdiction, he doesn't know where they went."

"In an armored car? Do you think we can hack it's GPS and find where they're taking him?"

"No," said Sam. "Morales ordered that the transport go dark. Seems they're not taking any chances.

Dean hated to admit it but that was a smart move. These Battalion members may be in over their heads to mess with angels and demons but they sure weren't stupid. "Where do you think they're taking them? Wayne Manor?" The Paradise Pavilion seemed like a good out of the way spot to hold some hunters.

"Maybe," Sam mumbled before he caught sight of the phone in his brother's hand. "Reach anyone?"

"Yeah," Dean sighed out. "I managed to reach a few of our contacts and they said they would make sure to put the word out. Anyone who hasn't been grabbed yet is going to keep a low profile, well an even lower profile I guess."

Sam nodded. "I just wish I knew what this was about? Why would the Battalion start going after hunters? I thought they were just dealt with demons and did chores for the Powers."

"Uh, I don't know," Dean grunted out. "Maybe they might be a bit pissed from when we went and broke into their little country club a few weeks ago."

But Sam narrowed his eyes. "I don't know, maybe-"

Dean saw the look on his face. "What?"

"It's just...I don't know Dean. This kind of feels a little much for being pissed about some breaking and entering. I can't help but think they're might be taking this a bit personally."

Dean felt a sudden itch from his arm and went to scratch it as his fingernails brushed the area where the mark was. At that, he had sudden flashes of him taking the First Blade and sticking it into Logan Donovan. He could hear the man's pained final cry as well as see his new dimmed eyes staring back at him. He then saw the other people he killed at the manor that day. Killed and became covered in their blood. But, Sam hadn't seen and also didn't seem to know any of that. Sam had started to ease off him when it came to everything he did when the Mark had a hold on him. The last thing he wanted was to bring it all back again.

So he did what he did best: Lie through his teeth. "Well who knows what's going through the heads of Heaven's fan club. For all we know, this is some kind of sick job that Daniel or maybe even the angels gave them. With their head dick free from Lucifer's box, who can guess what they're doing now."

Sam gave his brother a small look for a moment before he nodded. "Then what do you think we should do?"

"We do what we always do, we take care of it. You and me."

With that, Dean moved to get into the driver's seat to start the car up. Sam followed Dean's movement as he narrowed his eyes. He knew his brother well enough by now to know that his final tirade there was some kind of deflection. He knew something about all of this and either Dean didn't want him to know, was uncomfortable to talk about it, or both. With everything Dean had going on right now, he couldn't help but worry about what else was happening with him. As Sam moved to join him in the car, he was resolute in the fact that he would find it out and, whatever it was, would help Dean through it.

* * *

For the last three hours, the Battalion laid down everything they knew of the Winchesters and what they've done. Everything from when the Devil's Gate opened, the Apocalypse, the War in Heaven, Eve, The Leviathan, The Hell Trials, The Fall and now the Mark of Cain and Dean's recent partnership with Crowley. Many of the hunters cut in as they were talking, either asking questions or speaking their doubts but the Battalion talk them down every time. After they were finished, there was about ten minutes of silence as they let it all sink in. All their gazes were focused on the ground before Jeremy suddenly lifted his head.

"What now? Just what exactly are you going to do with us?" he choked out.

"What do cops always do when they book someone but are after something bigger?" Phillip was silent for a moment before he answered his own question. "Make a deal."

"You want to make us a deal?" one of the hunters asked. "What kind of deal?"

Victor looked over in his direction. "You hunters will still do what you do best, hunt monsters. Vampires, werewolves, ghosts, ghouls, goblins, killer clowns from outer space and all that wicked crap. However," he said stiffly. "From now on, anything demonic or angelic that you find, you stay out of it."

One of the hunters gave him a look. "What? You can't be serious."

Victor gave him a bored sort of side look. "Do you think we went through all of this to be funny?" he asked with no hidden sarcasm. "We're dead serious. Demons and Angels are off limits to all of you. Steer clear and if you do manage to stumble into something, then you'll call us. We will take care of it."

The hunter scoffed indignantly. "And if we don't feel like steering clear."

"Then you'll find yourselves in a cell," Phillip told them. "We have all of you now and know where to find you. Follow our rules and we'll make sure that you're all free and clear. We'll even protect you if you run into any trouble."

"Within reason of course," Riley cut in. "We are still with the law here."

"Of course," Phillip nodded. "But, break the deal and we'll toss your asses into the darkest and smallest jail cell and you'll never see the light of day again. And it's no threat. We're very well connected, we can easily make that happen."

"Why?" Jeremy spoke out. "Why not just lock us away? Why even try to make a deal with us?"

"Believe me, we don't want to," said Victor. "Personally, I would prefer we just lock away every single one of you gun crazy hunter lunatics out there and throw away the key." The faces on all the hunters hardened a bit at 'lunatics' part. "But, whether we like it or not, hunters are important. We might be trained to deal with demons and help the real angels but the rest is out of our hands. You're vital in keeping monsters at bay and from overrunning us and we don't need more problems to add to the growing list. We're here to try and clean up the mess, not add to it."

Dennis stepped forward. "I'll be honest, the way that some of you guys do your job, it makes me sick. But, it's still a job that I know has to be done. We're still tracking down more of you but it would great if you were to help spread the word. To every hunter you know and every one they know. When it comes to angels and demons you hunters are out of your jurisdiction. Stick with the slimy and scaly monsters of the night. Matters of Heaven, Hell and Earth are now our department."

The hunter from before lost his sneer and his face fell at the hard glare in Dennis' eye. "You're serious. You're actually red tapping us."

"We're drawing a line," Dennis said stiffly. "We handle anything to do with Heaven and Hell and you handle anything that goes to Purgatory. Run into anything demon or angel related, you call us. We run into anything monster or spirit related, we call you."

"So, what? We stay on our side and you stay on your side, is that it?" Jeremy asked them.

"Well, if you want to put it that way, yeah," Victor nodded before he held up his finger. "But there's also one more small thing we want from all of you."

"What's that?" the sole female hunter asked.

"The Winchesters." At Victor's mention of them, Phillip, Dennis and Riley faces all hardened.

"What about them?" Jeremy asked.

"We want them," Victor said in a low and harsh tone. "And you're going to help us with that. We know enough that they usually keep to themselves. However, they occasionally reach out to others like you. If they contact any of you, we want you to contact us right away."

"Why? What are you going to do?" one of the other hunters asked.

"That's also out of your jurisdiction," Dennis said to him. "All you have to do is just help put them in our direction."

Phillip nodded. "If they reach out to any of you, try to ask for anything, send them our way. Or...tell them to go hell, again."

"Why would any of you help them now anyway?" Riley went to put his hands into the pockets of his slacks as he stared the hunters down. "Just look, look back at what's happened, what they've done. Face the facts people. All of us, we're all here in this mess right now, because of them. And right now, what they're doing will revolve on trying to keep Dean Winchester from becoming a full demon, again. Who knows what that will mean. Maybe this time saving a Winchester will involve punching a hole in the universe and releasing a cosmic horror into the world."

Riley's words made a chill fall down each of the Battalion member's spines. For all they knew, that's what it might just take.

Victor's hands tightened at his sides before he took a deep breath and move to stand center in front of all the knelt hunters. "And it's time for it to stop." Victor then moved to stand in front of Jeremy. "Once and for all and you can help us do that. Finally make it all just...stop."

Jeremy let a heated sigh out. "Do we have a choice?"

"You do," Dennis chimed in. "But you're going to have to make it here and now. You could choose to stand with the guys that keep screwing the world over for each other and don't give a damn about anyone but themselves and their messed up family dynamics...or you could work with guys that care about people and actually want to leave the world better than it was when they started."

"So...what's it going to be?" Victor asked the hunters as a whole. The hunters all were silent for a moment before Victor decided to put one last say in. "Us, or those...monsters?"

At that word, Jeremy rose his head up straight and then held up his cuffed hands. Victor went over and caught his eye and an eternity seemed to pass between them in that moment. Victor then blinked as he went and took his keys and unlocked Jeremy's cuffs. Soon after, one after the other, the other hunters' cuffs and chains all fell ceremoniously to the ground.

* * *

 **End of Chapter 10**

A/N: Sorry for the long delay. I've been working on my Teen Wolf story and then I suffered from slight writer's block but I think I'm over it now. Seems the Battalion is ready to 'lay down the law' when it comes to the Supernatural. But, what are they really after?

The next chapter will have Sam and Dean look up people dying in mysterious ways that just seem to be freak accidents. They seem to think maybe someone with psychic abilities might be behind this but when they find that angels are following the same leads, it seems to be much bigger than they thought.


	11. They Grow Up So Fast

Chapter 11: They Grow Up So Fast

Samael was eyeing the insides of the fancy bar through the eyes of Sam Winchester. He had broken away from Dean Winchester and was now enjoying his new freedom of being in total control and not having to put up the act any longer. He had regained a great deal of his strength due to having this powerful vessel so that he wasn't practically slagging on his feet. Now he could go back to his favorite past time. His preferred brand of hunting. He just hoped he wasn't rusty. After all, it had been a few millenia since he'd gone and lustfully seduced humans. He then noticed that there were three woman drinking shots together over at the bar. They were dressed sensibly, so he guessed that they had just gotten out of work. From their professional looking attire, he guessed that they were office assistants or secretaries. Pent up emotions and possibly sexually frustrated. Perfect for someone who's been out of the game for a while.

The ladies were surprised when the bartender came over to them with three drinks. He told them that they were courtesy of Samael and he went and raised his glass nonchalantly at them. Two of them shared smiles as they took the drinks but the third, didn't let her eyes leave him. She got up from her seat and moved over to him.

"Thanks for the drinks."

Samael let a small smile creep onto him. "My pleasure. Name's Samael."

"Samuel?"

"No, Samael."

Her eyes widened. "Really, that's different."

"Not really. Let's just say that my father is quite old fashioned," he said mischievously. "But everyone tends to call me Sam. How about you?"

"Laura Harris."

"Laura, simple name for a simply beautiful woman."

"Wow, you sure know how to sweet talk a girl."

"Well, I try not to brag," he said as he took a small sip from his glass.

And from that point, it was just a series of small talk and flirting looks before they ended up in Laura's apartment, moving to take off their clothes. Laura moved her hands over his chiseled torso before she noticed the very happy look on Samael's face.

"Eager much?" she laughed.

Samael shook his head. "Sorry. It's just been a _real_ long time for me. Not the most sexiest thing to admit." He chuckled a bit as he dipped his head down in small embarrassment.

But Laura went to put a finger under his chin. "Hey," she said lifting his face to meet hers. "I like it. And, to be honest, it's been a while for me too."

"Really?" Samael moved his hands up and down her hips softly. "I can't believe that."

"Oh?" She then moved her hands along his strong back. "And with a package like yours, can I believe that?" she teased back.

Samael smiled and showed off his dimples to her. "Well, let's just say it's been forced to the shelf for a while. So, I might be a little rusty."

"Okay." She then went to move her hands from his back to up his arms before they settled on his bare, sculpted shoulders. "Why don't you and I go and break each other back in then?"

Samael rose his eyes at her flirtatiously and she then began running her hands down from his shoulders down the front of his torso before they stopped at the top of his jeans. She grabbed and pulled him from their and he followed her as she moved back towards her bed, falling on it with him hovering on top of her. Underclothes were tossed aside. Both soft and hard kisses were exchanged. Heavy breaths were taken and deep moans were sounded for a good long while. After they both hit their climax, they found themselves lying on their backs beside each other, sweaty and breathing hard.

"So...what do you think?" Samael huffed out.

"What do I think?" Laura turned to look at him with a wide smile as she was gasping big breaths. "I think that if that was you being rusty...your A-game would take me closer to God," she chuckled.

That made Samael chuckle. "Oh, closer than you'd think." Two hours later, when Samael had snuck out the building, he gave the window for her apartment a look. He sighed as he had turned and started to walk off. "Oh I'm back baby," he said to himself.

When Laura managed to wake up late the next morning, she saw that he was gone but she basked in the afterglow of the incredible night that she had. She couldn't understand why, but she couldn't stop thinking of it. It wasn't Laura's first one night stand but something about that guy was...different. For more reasons than one but to her, it felt as if what she experienced was life changing. Even days after that night, looking back on it made her want to reach for some ice water.

That is until only two weeks later when she started feeling funny pains in her stomach. She went to take a test and found that she was pregnant. That surprised her as she had been on birth control though she guessed that she had been in the unlucky percentile where it wouldn't work. She quickly bought some Plan B pills but it surprisingly did nothing to quell the pregnancy. She was surprised that after three weeks, she was still pregnant and starting to feel weak. She went over to a clinic to try and get an abortion. But, when the doctor was about to get started, he was immediately flung backwards until he slammed into the wall so hard that the back of his head cracked and left a big red splatter where he hit. She cried at the sight of the dead doctor and ran out of the clinic. Laura then knew that this wasn't any normal child inside her and was starting to wonder just what she got into when she hooked up with that Winchester guy that night. After only three months, she began to look like she was nine months along. She was barely able to sleep with aches and pains hitting her near constantly. When people started to talk about her quick swollen belly, she became beyond scared and she quickly ran away.

She was currently driving down the Utah desert road of Route 163, squinting as she struggled to see the dimly road ahead with her insides burning up. When she felt them starting to twist, it caused her to begin pulling the car off the road and driving into the rocky wilderness. She couldn't focus on her driving through the pain and ended up going down some small hill and her car got stuck in a sinkhole. Her head was bleeding a bit but her focus was on her swollen belly as she started to feel like her bones were snapping. She quickly opened her door and collapsed out onto the dirt as started to loudly moan out in pain. She was crying as the pain intensified and then lifted her hand as she felt blood start to leak out of her. Suddenly there was a rush of pain and she gave one final blood curling scream before there was a blinding light that shined through the area and it made the glass of the car shatter and its alarm start blaring as the light began to fade. Through the blinking lights of the van, Laura's body was being watched by a small baby that was covered with her drying blood.

The sun had long risen when the road saw a pickup truck driving on down it. The driver was calmly watching the empty road ahead when his eyes widened as he noticed someone walking on down at the side. A small someone. He slowed down and stopped to find that it was a kid. A boy that looked maybe around ten years old and he saw that he was dressed in nothing but an overly large shirt that went almost to his kneecaps. But, the most startling thing was that there were lines of dried blood on his face, arms and even his bare feet.

"Hey kid, what happened?" But the boy didn't answer. He had a blank look on his face and just stared at him. He guessed the boy was in some kind of shock. "Are you hurt?" The boy then shook his head a bit but still kept that blank look on his face. "Alright, it's gotta be maybe twenty miles until the next town. Climb on in and I'll take you to the police station and get you some help." He went and opened the door for the kid and he climbed on inside. After about four miles, the guy looked over at the boy and noticed him just staring out the window at the passing desert. "So kid, uh, what's your name?" He then turned and looked over at him, with that same expressionless face. "You do have a name, right?"

The boy's eyes stayed on the man's face before they lowered down and saw that there was a name stitched on his button up shirt. It read Alan. As he saw it, he then cracked a cold smile.

* * *

 **Supernatural**

* * *

 _Over 3 months later..._

On Route 163 in Utah, a familiar black impala was driving down it with Dean just staring ahead as Sam was chatting away on his phone.

"Alright, thanks," Sam said as he then hung up. "Well, that was the last of our contacts. Well, the last that haven't been taken away by the Battalion yet. Warned them to lay low for a while."

"Awesome." Dean tightened his grip on the steering wheel. "What is it now, ten more hunters just up and arrested, taken away with no trace in the last three weeks. Now all of us that are left are now on the run. These guys are hunting us."

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure they're appreciating the irony," Sam said glumly.

"Well, with everyone that's left, you warned them about what we're up against?" Dean asked.

"Yeah," Sam panted as he settled into his seat. "Told them to avoid the cops when on jobs, at least until everything dies down. Also spread the word to watch out for leather cuffs on anyone."

"Speaking of jobs," Dean huffed. "How much farther is it?" he asked getting back to their current one.

Sam looked at his phone's GPS. "We should be in Monticello in about four more hours," he said before putting it away.

"Run me through the story of this place again."

Sam let himself settle into his seat as he shifted through some of the articles. "Okay, for the last two months, there have been about over two dozen reported incidents of bizarre things happening in this part of the state, centered in Monticello, Utah. Accounts of things moving by themselves. Sudden power disruptions. There was even a case of some car windows just shattering by themselves in the middle of the street. It started around kids until over a week ago. Some online chatter started saying that ghosts are responsible."

"Yeah, or it could all be just some small town teens playing pranks. Bored and who decided to try and make their own pranking videos in their hometown to post on youtube. Some of those are pretty hilarious," Dean put in with a laughing tone.

Sam rose his eyebrows at him. " _You_ watch youtube?" he asked disbelievingly.

"What? People actually do post good stuff on there," he said getting a little defensive.

But Sam shrugged. "Well, it's a nice theory but if its all a joke, it stopped being funny a while ago. These things started getting more rougher and some people ended up getting hurt. Two even ended up in the hospital."

"What do the local cops think?"

"They're just chalking them all up to random freak accidents. But, just the other night, a body actually dropped. Guy named Gilbert Redding. He was walking home with his girlfriend and he got electrocuted out in the middle of the street and burned to a crisp."

"Ouch," Dean muttered. "How'd that happen?"

"Well, the authorities think it was some kind of freak power surge. They found a few of the street lamps nearby were shorted out and charred so they think that he just got caught in the output. But his girlfriend is saying that before Redding was roasted she had seen some kind of light. She also said she could feel something invisible pull at her when it all started happening. The authorities are just chalking what she says to trauma from witnessing him die right in front of her. Still, power surges, things flying by themselves, these things do match an angry spirit's M.O."

Dean tilted his head a bit. "Yeah but you said this has been going on for a while, right? And there were just popping up randomly around that town? Ghosts are supposed to be pretty solitary and react on impulse. They don't just go cruising around making fusses and then randomly electrocute some poor sap out of nowhere."

"No," Sam admitted. "Not normal ones. What if it's like with what happened with Scott Garland? Remember him, the ghost who was stranded because Heaven was closed off and he ended up drifting around close by his family?"

"Ghost Dad? No, but wasn't Heaven opened back up weeks ago? Because their holy choir boy went and sprung Michael from the Cage. Cas said he undid Metatron's spell." Admittedly the only good thing to actually come from that mess. "Death and his delivery boys would be able to take everyone back in like before, right?"

Sam nodded. "Yeah, they should've but there were a lot of souls stranded. Maybe they missed a few. Death did say that they would be backed up, right? Could be that there are still some stragglers that they didn't get to?"

Dean shrugged. "Well, then I guess we'll be picking up their slack." He then settled back into his seat. "I gotta say though, a good old fashioned ghost hunt will be a nice break from all this angel and battalion crap."

They made it to Monticello and visited the girlfriend at her apartment. Sam was sitting across from her at her table while Dean was letting his eyes wander around, to take in the room.

"Courtney, right?" Sam asked her. She nodded. "Okay, just tell us what happened."

Courtney Flanagan rubbed at her eyes stressfully. "I already told the police everything. And when I did, they said that everything I saw must've just been the shock."

"Pun not intended?" Dean quirked in. Courtney flinched as she looked down at her knees and Sam turned to give him a bit of a stinkeye. "Too soon," he muttered.

"Please," Sam said trying to salvage their chance of getting through to her. "Courtney, just tell us what happened."

Courtney rubbed at her nose and sniffed a bit. "Uh, well Gil and I were walking home after we got a bite over at the diner before it closed. We were about four blocks away when some of the street lamps started to flicker. They were flickering as we were getting closer to them but they stopped when we got far enough. We were freaking out and decided to pick up the pace and just get back home when one of them just popped all of a sudden as we stepped under it. Gil grabbed me and we started running. But, everytime we got under a new streetlamp, that one would break too. We then just ran out into the street, thinking we would be safe. Then-" But she just stopped right there.

"What?" Sam asked her gently.

She sniffled. "Uh, I saw some light and the next thing I know, I'm thrown off my feet as if someone pushed me. While I was on the ground, I felt this sudden bit of heat and started to hear screaming and looked and saw sparks are coming out of nowhere and hitting Gil. It was like lightning and it kept striking at him. He was...twitching so much and his screaming only got louder and louder. It didn't stop until he was-." Her voice had been cracking and couldn't seem to finish.

Dean narrowed his eyes a bit. This sounded like it was some kind of a hit. Someone or something was after her boyfriend for some reason.

"Okay," Sam said as he took out a pad. "I have some questions that might sound a little strange but I need you to just bare with me, okay?" Courtney nodded through her tears. "When the lights flickered, did you happy to feel any cold spells? Even for a moment?"

She shook her head. "No."

"Were there any sudden odors or smells as, it happened?" Sam went on a bit delicately.

Courtney shook her head again. "No."

As Sam had her attention, Dean pulled out his EMF but there wasn't so much as a blip.

Sam nodded as he pretended to write something. "Okay, did Gil ever tell you if anything was off around him lately? Or if there was anyone that might have had some kind of grudge against him?"

Courtney was suddenly thrown. "What? Why would you ask that?"

"Please Courtney," Sam lightly pushed.

She shook her head. "No. Well, nothing that he told me about anyway. Unless you count him shoving some guy from the diner after we had a late dinner that night."

"Diner?" asked Dean. "What diner?"

"The Elmwood Diner on Pat Street. It's just a few blocks from here."

Dean's eyes narrowed. "And that was right before this all happened?"

"Yes, but what would that have to do with anything? Gil was-." Her voice seemed to start cracking again and it seemed like she couldn't go on.

Sam then cleared his throat. "Well thank you Courtney. We won't take any more of your time. And we're sorry." The two of them stepped outside. "What do you think?" Sam asked.

Dean shrugged. "I don't know. She seemed freaked about the whole thing, and it does sound like a ghost. But she didn't feel any cold spots from when she and her boyfriend were hit," he said before holding up his EMF. "And, I got nothing."

"But something definitely happened. So maybe it's not a ghost but something else."

"Yeah, but what?"

"I don't know." Sam then moved to wipe at the front of his mouth as he let himself go into thought. "Okay, why don't we head to the morgue and check out the boyfriend's body?"

"Yeah," Dean muttered. "You can do that. Me, I'm going to go and check out the diner where the boyfriend had the fight."

Sam narrowed his eyes. "Why?"

"It's where they were last, and something happened to them when they left. Might be something."

"Or it might be nothing," Sam put in. "Courtney said it was just a random shove."

"Still, can't hurt to check anyway. And I could use a burger," Dean added as an afterthought.

Dean then took off and Sam just rolled his eyes before he shook his head and took off too.

* * *

Sam made it to the morgue but saw that there seemed to be no one at the front desk.

"Hello?" he calmly called out. But there was no answer. He guessed that the clerk stepped out.

Sam decided to step further inside and head for the back when he heard some voices behind the storage room door. He quietly peeked the door's window and could see that there were two men in there. One of them seemed to be the coroner and the other looked like he might be the clerk and they were both speaking to a woman. Sam saw that this woman was dressed in a simple suit and trousers and had a large business purse strapped around her shoulder. The way she was dressed and carried herself made it look like she was a fed. His face softened a bit as he took more of her in. She had semi long hair that barely passed her shoulders that was a shade of light brown that might pass for blonde in a certain light. He noticed that she had light green eyes and they seemed to be sharp and focused as she listened to what the doctor and his assistant were telling her. When one of them stepped around her, Sam blinked and realized that to the side, there was a charred looking body on a table. The three of them were overlooking it.

"The victim suffered heavy electrical burning that heavily scorched the outer skin tissue layer of his body and caused massive internal burns as well," the coroner began explaining to her.

The woman gave the body an inquisitive look as she had her phone out and seemed to be recording. "Was the crux of the internal burns at the area of his heart?" she asked as she pointed at the corpse's chest.

The coroner went to grab the clipboard next the body. "Yes, it was. That was also where the temperature was the highest when the body was first brought in."

"Suggesting a possible point of entry," the woman stated as she made an almost inaudible note.

That made the coroner get taken aback. "Point of entry? For an electrocution?"

"Never mind," the woman said shaking her head. "Just making a private note." She then put her phone away but kept her professional poise. "By any chance, was there another body reported with that had similar signs of internal burning within the last few weeks?"

The coroner eyes widened. "Why, yes. Yes there was."

"How long ago exactly?" she asked.

"Last month I believe. Hold on." He went over to a file cabinet and pulled out a folder. "I remember, it was such a strange case." He looked up the date on the top of the file. "Yes, just little over a month ago. A woman, in her late 20's to early 30's. Her body had been found next to an abandoned car off the side of the road by some partying kids. Based on levity, she had to have been lying there for weeks. We found signs internal burns though, unlike Mr. Redding, there was none on the outer part of the body. How did you know?"

"I received word of a person of interest in the state area that might be connected with incidents that had a similar M.O."

"And with Mr. Redding, you think these two cases might be related?"

She took the file as he handed it out to her. "With these types of deaths separated by a small span of time and space, it isn't risky to assume." She looked at the pictures that were taken of the body being found. "Were you able to determine if the burning was the precise cause of death?" she asked the doctor.

The coroner shrunk a bit. "The results were...inconclusive."

She stiffened a bit. "Inconclusive? What do you mean?"

"You see, our analysis showed that the deceased suffered both a blend of major blood loss and internal burning. Both of them were fatal level cases but they conflict with each other so there is no way to determine which was suffered pre and post-mortis. There were trace amounts of blood on the ground by the body but there had been a storm roughly three days prior to the body's discovery which hinder placing the timing of the bleeding."

"I see." She kept her eyes on the file as she skimmed through it. "And you couldn't identify her?" she asked not looking up.

The coroner's assistant shook his head. "No, Jane Doe had no ID found on the body or in the nearby vehicle. No matches on fingerprints or DNA in the database which probably means that she had no priors."

She stiffened when she came upon an interesting bit of information on the report. "Doctor, it says here that she sustained major blood loss."

"Yes. There was a heavy amount coagulated blood residue found near where she laid. Based on the fact that there were no visible wounds found on her body, we take this to mean that it was internal. Though, considering that there were internal burns, we couldn't be certain."

The woman raised her head from the file but narrowed her eyes as they looked over at the door. She thought she had seen something move past their windows. "Excuse me," she said as she closed the file and started to make her way to the doors. She pushed them open and looked into the halls to find them empty and quiet.

Over in a nearby file room, Sam was hiding himself as he stood still and tried not to make a sound.

"Mam?" the assistant asked. "Is everything alright?"

She sighed and nodded as she lightly stepped back inside. "Yes. Of course. I'm sorry about that." She let her eyes fall on the burnt victim one more time. "One last question doctor. By any chance, was the intensity of the burns in Jane Doe highest around the area of the uterus?"

The coroner nodded. "Yes, actually it was. How did you know?"

She gave him a small smile. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you. I will have to borrow this file."

"Yes of course," the doctor nodded.

Sam moved to quietly leave before the three of them could leave the morgue's storage room. It sounded like there might be more to this case than he thought.

* * *

An angel wearing a simple suit and tie made his way to the roped off area of the street. There were a few road workers and police officers surveying the area and trying to keep cars and people from disturbing the scene. The guy lifted the tape up and let himself go underneath to get closer. He looked down to where there was some scorch marks on the ground and bent down to lightly run his fingers over it. A police officer nearby quickly noticed and moved for him.

"I'm sorry sir but you can't be over here."

The angel lifted his head and slowly turned to face the officer with a grim look on his face. He stared at the man for a moment and it seemed to make the human start getting agitated and ready to physically move him away.

"It's alright," a voice rang out. "He's with me."

They both turned to look over at a well dressed woman, who was quickly walking over to them. The heels of her shoes clicking against the pavement with every step as she started reaching into her bag.

"And who are you miss?" asked the officer.

She smiled at him and pulled out her wallet to show her badge. "Dr. Judice Parker. I'm an anthropologist with the bureau. I was assigned to oversee the collection and analysis of this incident. This man is my newly assigned assistant and I'm afraid he's still a little lost when it comes to protocol."

The officer checked the badge and then handed it back. "Well, no harm done. Just make sure he starts letting everyone know who he's with first before he just goes in anywhere."

Judice nodded. "Of course. And thank you." The officer then left leaving the two of them alone. She then gave the angel a bit of a look as she went and moved to adjust the leather cuff under her shirt's sleeve. "That was a close one. I've heard that you guys could be a little dense when it came to blending in but you're supposed to be a very high ranking one, right? What was your name?"

"Gideon," he told her stiffly. "And I'm a Power. Only an archangel ranks higher than us." He said that with a tone that seemed to suggest that it would make the woman shrink down from him.

But, that only made Judice tilt her head slightly with some amusement in her eyes. "And yet you don't know enough to not just go and cross crime scene tape?"

He went to bend down over the scorch mark. "We're in a crisis. There isn't any time to waste on foolish and time consuming courtesies. Now Ms. Parker, have you come with some help for me or did you arrive simply to waste my time with trivial nonsense?"

"Help, of course." Judice sighed in resignation as she brought out the file that she got from the coroner's office and gave it to him. "I just came over from the coroner and found the file of a woman who matched what you asked for. Internal burns and major blood loss. The kind that you would see with women who would die from a miscarriage. Can you tell whose it is?"

He shook his head. "No. I'm afraid not though a good guess is that it might be Zepar." At least he hoped it was Zepar and not the worst possible choice. Gideon straightened up and Judice handed him the file. His eyes scanned it and he nodded. "Do you know how long ago she died?"

"The coroner said that it had to be weeks ago. Based on the file, I would say around the area of three months."

"So, this one is three months old." He looked at the roped off area. "And also seems that it is starting to have a better grasp of its power."

"And you can't find it?"

"It's cloaking itself. All the mishaps happening in this area were made to test and stabilize its strength. Now, it seems to have learned how to shield its presence from someone like me."

"How would it know to cloak itself from you?"

"It must sense me like I can sense it."

"Regardless, finding it can't be that hard," Judice shook her head. "A three month old moving around would bound to attract attention."

"Not exactly. These creatures don't necessarily age in the rate as humans would. They have been known to have reach adolescence and even adulthood in a short time."

"God," Judice mumbled as she looked over at the photo that was taken when police first arrived at the scene. "I can't even imagine what she must've been going through during all of this. Not knowing what was happening to her and being alone. She must've been so scared."

"Well, I believe you humans say that Ignorance is Bliss. If this woman had fully understood just what she was carrying, she probably would've been mortified beyond compare. She was luckier than most."

Judice then glared at him. "I wouldn't exactly say she was lucky."

"She acted irresponsibly and she paid the price for her foolishness."

"Foolish? She couldn't have known that she was going to be hooking up with an angel," she said in this woman's defense.

Gideon let out a heated breath. "She threw herself into bed with a stranger that could've been anyone. It turned out that it was a renegade and became impregnated by him. I would say that was foolish, but then again, from what I understand, these days you humans are all too ready to just throw yourselves at one another either in the bedroom or practically anywhere when the opportunity arises. She succumbed to her lust and it went on to cost her life. And now, thanks to her own personal neglect, there is a real threat roaming around that has no qualms with toying with and attacking other people." He shook his head and smirked. "Cost and Consequences. Two words you humans never truly consider when you're faced with choices. Only the benefits. It's when the costs begin to weigh on you and the consequences start hinder your lives that you start pondering whether something was the right choice."

She let out a huff as she crossed her arms. "Okay, wow. I can kind of hear what you're saying but that's still a pretty cynical outlook."

But now Gideon was glaring at her. "But it's the truth. Listen Dr. Parker, you are not here to give me a moral debate. So either assist me or you can leave and bring me someone who will," he told her sternly. Judice was still glaring but she closed her eyes and let herself deflate a bit before she nodded and resumed a professional demeanor. "Excellent. Now, can you find where the woman was buried?" he said plainly.

Judice shook her head. "No burial. The woman was cremated about a week after the autopsy was completed. She wasn't identified and the body wasn't claimed so the standard procedure was to cremate her remains and place the ashes in an unmarked grave plot."

Gideon's eyes narrowed. "That's unfortunate. The fire would've burned away any lingering traces of grace for us to use to track."

"So, what do we do now?"

"Nothing. The trail's gone cold. Until the target uses its power again, we are at a standstill. Therefore, we must wait."

"Wait for someone else to be hurt or killed?" she asked him.

He looked at her unflinchingly. "Perhaps now you could see my outlook isn't as cynical as you previously thought."

The angel then walked off, leaving Judice standing there with a tired look on her face. She couldn't just stand there and just wait for someone else to hurt or killed by this thing. But, how could she track down someone when she didn't know their name, age or even gender? She started back for her car when she spotted a few young preteen kids walking together up ahead. Now, she was getting an idea.

* * *

Dean got to the diner and saw that it seemed pretty decent. There were a few people scattered around, eating and relaxing, being normal. Dean made his way over to the counter where there was a pretty brunette waitress with long and curly hair standing in front of a young man.

"Anything else?" she asked him.

"Well, I wouldn't mind a phone number," he said, a little arrogantly.

She just sighed and moved away from him before going over to Dean. "Welcome to the Elmwood Diner. What can I get you?"

Dean looked and saw that her nametag said EMILY. He smiled back at her. "Oh, uh I'll have a double cheeseburger combo."

"Coming right up," she said to him as she wrote down his order. "Okay, let me just get some water for you."

"I appreciate it Emily," Dean smiled.

Emily smiled at him and walked backwards a bit to let her gaze linger on him a bit before she moved to place the order in with the kitchen. Dean smiled to himself as she went inside.

The guy from before leaned in. "Hey, how'd you do that? I've been trying to get her to look my way for a while but nothing and you get her to smile and check you out in half a minute?"

Dean looked the young guy up and down. He seemed pretty young. Maybe around 17 or so. He had deep brown hair that was a little wavy but brushed to the side. He was dressed in a blue jeans jacket with a wooly collar and had matching jeans and white sneakers. "Well, I don't think your her type."

"Why wouldn't I be?" he asked him like it was a dumb question.

Dean's eyebrows rose. "Well, for one thing, you were out learning your ABC's when she was your age."

"I think my age would fool you," the kid snorted back to him. "Besides, I thought women loved guys in their prime."

Dean snorted. "Yeah, well maybe you're the one that should set your sights younger."

But now it was the other guy's turn to snort. "I don't want girls. I want women. There's so much they can teach me and I'm dying to learn."

Dean couldn't help but laugh a little. This kid kind of reminded him of himself when he was that age. After he had dropped out of high school to hunt, he preferred to keep his eyes on older women than girls his age. "What's your name kid?"

"Alan. Alan Samson." The guy then brought his hand out.

Dean went to grab it and give it a friendly shake. "Dean Bowie," he said back. "And I wish you luck but I think I'm more her type."

Alan narrowed his eyes mischievously. "We'll just see about that. I can handle some competition."

The woman came back and brought Dean a glass of ice water. "Is there anything else you'd like? Anything to drink?"

"Yeah, beer if you've got."

"We do."

"Great, send one my way," Alan said over to her.

Emily just narrowed her eyes at him. "Sure, after you show me some ID."

Alan chuckled. "Oh, I'm flattered."

There was then some knocking and they could make out a guy in an apron standing behind the serving grates that slightly showed the kitchen. He had a knife in his hand and was pointing it Alan's way. "Hey, no more of that."

"It's okay George," Emily told him. "He's just horsing around."

"No Emily, it's not okay. This punk has caused enough trouble." The cook was now glaring at Alan. "You're already pushing your luck just being here right now. Leave the lady alone, eat your food, then get out," he said pointing out the door.

Alan narrowed his eyes at the cook before he sighed and moved to get to his feet. "Fine." Alan reached into his pocket and threw a twenty on the table. "Keep the change," he said to her but Emily just rolled her eyes at him. He huffed and went over to Dean and leaned close to him. "Seems too stiff for me anyway." He then moved to open the door and left the diner.

"If you say so," Dean mumbled after him. He could tell the guy wanted to save face. Emily then came and brought him his beer. "Thanks," he told her. He then reached for his pocket to get his wallet to get his ID so he could ask about Gilbert Redding but stiffened. His pocket was empty. His wallet was gone. But he was sure that he had it just a moment ago. He took a moment before he realized what must've happened. "That no good punk."

* * *

Sam was back in the motel room and was on his computer looking for info on the body he had just heard about. That woman, the fed, she seemed to know more about Redding's death than he and Dean did. And from how she spoke, she knew that what killed him wasn't normal. That meant that she was either a hunter herself...or something else. Sam soon found what appeared to be the right file and began to skim it. It was basically a summary of everything that he had heard discussed back at the morgue.

He then moved to the pictures and started to scroll through them. He then got a photo that had the woman's face. Sam suddenly saw the woman look at him as she rubbed at his body and kissed him. Sam blinked when he then started seeing the two of them tangled up in each other on top of a bed. Suddenly he thought back to that fed talking about the woman suffering effects similar to a miscarriage.

He let out a surprised gasp. "Oh, crap."

Sam then opened his search engine. He typed in: Nephilim.

A few pages came up and Sam started to look at them but before he could move onto the second page, his phone rang. He saw that it was his brother. "Hey Dean, I think I got something."

"You're going to have to tell me later. I need you to swing by to the diner for me."

Sam narrowed his eyes in confusion. "Why?"

"I need you to pay for a meal for me," Dean grumbled.

He became thrown. He didn't expect that one. "Pay for-, and why can't you do that Dean?"

"I don't have my wallet," he spat.

"You lost your wallet?" Sam nearly laughed. "How'd that happen?"

"Just get down here," Dean said impatiently.

"Okay. I'm on my way." Sam then hung up but let his eyes fall on an artist rendering of a woman holding a child while gazing at an angel.

Dean then hung up and smiled at Emily. "I'm sorry about this."

"It's no trouble. These things happen. Do you want another beer?"

He sighed. "Yeah, thanks. Uh, say you don't know where I might find that Alan kid, do ya?" He wanted to have some words with the sticky fingered punk.

Emily shook her head as she came over with his second beer. "No, sorry. He just showed up over a week ago. Comes around here almost every day. Even caused a scene two nights back."

Dean narrowed his eyes. "Oh? What kind of scene?"

"Got into some argument with a guy. Made some smart ass comment about his girlfriend's ass or something and he shoved him. Our cook had to go and help break them up."

Dean then reached into his pocket and pulled out a printout of Redding's picture. "Was it this guy?"

Emily blinked at it. "I don't know. I'll ask our cook, he'd know. George," she called as she moved to head into the kitchen.

The next thing Dean knew, there was a loud high pitched scream coming back out that made him and the other few people in the diner jump. He quickly ran through the kitchen door and saw that cook was lying on the floor, face first, with a knife stuck in his back. Dean then heard a clinking noise and saw that three knives on the magnet hold on the wall were now leaving it and hovering in the air. The blades were moving to point in Emily's direction and Dean quickly jumped to bring her down as they fly across the room for her. He managed to push out out of harms way and looked over at where the three knives were lodged in the wall where Emily had been a second ago.

* * *

 **End of Chapter 11**

A/N: I am so sorry for the long delay for this chapter but I had been very caught up in all my other stories. I hope you liked the introduction of Judice Parker, the older sister of Callie Parker, the Saint Daniel's girlfriend. And we have met a new power as well.

The next chapter will have Sam, Dean, Gideon and Judice all confronting one another as they all rush to confront the being responsible for all this.


End file.
